In Love With A Dixon
by zombiekiller93
Summary: When a strange girl not only saves Sophia, but Glenn. There seems to be more to her, than just a prettyface. And what happens when a family reunion is in order?
1. Chapter 1

"Mommy!" I stood from my crouching position. "Damn it." I muttered, as the doe ran away. I was so close to having a decent meal, and someone went and ruined it. I listened into the silence. Hoping to hear something.

After moments of silence, there was another ear piercing scream. Without hesitation I ran through the brush, trying to follow the noise. The cries got louder, meaning I was getting closer.

I skidded to a stop and hid behind a tree. There was a small horde of Stiffs. Surrounding a tree of all things to gather around. I gazed up into the tree, and couldn't believe my eyes. There, on a high branch, sat a little girl.

Blonde, had to only be around 10-12 years old. I silently cocked the barrel of the shotgun, feeling the warm trigger under my finger. I took a deep breath, and looked again. There were only about 6 Stiffs. Enough to do damage, if given the chance.

I slowly snuck to the group, and made eye contact with the girl. I put my finger to my lips, telling her to be silent. And she cupped her hands over her mouth. Muffling any and all cries.

I yanked the small machete out of my belt loop. I sliced the back of the neck, of the closest Stiff. It went down with out a single noise or anything. But within seconds, I had been seen.

"Close your eyes!" I demanded at the girl, and she put one hand over her eyes. I used as little ammo, as I could. I completely took of the head of one of them. I grimaced, when it was still chomping at the air. Trying to get at me.

I shot it in the forehead, as I worked my way through them. And in no time, and wasting only three bullets, the group was gone. "Hey." I whispered loudly. She opened her eyes, and stared down at me.

"Come on. I'm not going to hurt you." I opened my arms towards her, and she reluctantly came down from the tree. "Are you hurt?" I asked, kneeling down to her height. I looked her over, she had traces of dried blood, on her face.

"N-no." She was crying, her face scrunching up. "Okay. Well, where did you come from?" She looked around, and she looked even more confused. "I don't know." She hooked her arms around my neck, burying her face in my neck.

"It's okay." I stood, taking her with me. Her legs hooked around my waist, and I slung my gun-sling over my shoulder. "Will you make sure this doesn't fall off?" She just nodded. I was trying to distract her from all the dead bodies at our feet.

"Hide your face okay?" I pushed her head farther onto my shoulder. She just nodded. I guess she's either in shock or terrified. Either way, I had to take her with me. No way I could live with myself, if I just left her.

I stepped over the recently deceased, and towards the trail. And I started heading back to the cabin. I had been hiding out in a ranger station. Because whoever built it was smart, it was solar powered. Meaning I had electricity and none the less warm water.

She started to fall from my arms, but I just held onto her tighter. "So, what's your name?" I asked, patting her back. "So-Sophia." She sounded exhausted. "I'm Chrissy. But you can call me C-J." I perferred my nickname.

"That's a pretty name." She said, and I swear I could hear her smiling. "Thanks." I chuckled. And the cabin came into view. "God damn it!" I cursed out loud, and ducked behind a tree. "What?" She leaned back to look, but I pushed her head back down.

"No. Don't look. Just hold onto me, okay?" She simply nodded. What's with all the Stiffs traveling into the forest, lately? This is the second group in one day. I peeked and counted about 8, this time.

Two on the porch, sniffing around the house. Three at the end of the trail. And the other three randomly dispersed around the yard. "Sophia, I need you to do exactly what I tell you too." She just nodded.

I knew she'd probably be angry but it had to be done. I kneeled to the ground, and pulled her to stand in front of me. "I need you to be really quiet. Can you do that?" I curled some hair away from her eyes. "Yes." She nodded.

"Stay here. Crouch, and don't move. I'll be right back. If you absolutely need me, call me. I'll come right back." She held tightly onto my arms, but I peeled her off. And pushed her into a sitting position in the bushes.

From here, I shot down the three on the trail. Of course, alerting the others. I needed to limit my use of the gun. It seemed to attract unwanted attention, from passer-by Stiffs. "C-J!" Her scream, made me avert my attention, away from the jaws coming at me.

She seemed to attract, zombies to her, for some reason. She was crawling on the ground backwards, bloody arms reaching out after her. "C-J!" She yelped, when it grabbed her by the foot. "No. Sophia!" I ran back to her.

And took off his head, blood splattering onto her. Making her whimper, and cry more. I grabbed her hand, and pulled her behind my back. And hacked my way through the rest of them, their decaying bodies, crumpling to the ground.

I pulled the small key from my pocket and fumbled to open the door. I pushed her in, and locked the door again. I pulled apart the blinds, and saw no walking Stiffs. I turned back to the blubbering, little girl.

"Oh my," The sight of this poor person shaking in front of me, broke my heart. "Hey. Look at me." But she didn't. So I just gave-up trying to talk, and ushered her to the bathroom. "Take a warm shower. There are towels under the sink. I'll be outside, but don't come out." She just nodded and I turned on the water for her.

"If you go down the hall, there's a small bedroom. In the dresser there's some clothes. Find what you can. And no matter what," I hugged her head. "Do not come outside." And I left, shutting the door behind myself.

Outside, I pullled the bodies into a pile. Making sure they were really dead. I began to pour some vinegar over them. When I burned them, the vinegar, would cover any scent. Making it easier to not attract anymore of those things.

I sat a low fire, and watched them all go up in flames. I stared into the fire, watching the flames dance around, in the chilling air. The sun was going down. I had found Sophia just at the right time.

When the fire subsided, I threw shovel fulls of dirt on them. Masking any scent, even farther. And putting out the dull burning, flame. I leaned the shovel back against the house, and looked at the forest line.

"C-J?" Sophia had opened a window. Her head was sticking out, smiling at me. "What?" I asked, grabbing her hand. "Are there any more?" She looked past me, where I had been looking before. "No." And I let her go. And walked back into the house.

She sat down by the fireplace. "How do you have lights?" She flicked on a near-by lamp. "Do you know what solar panels are?" I sat across from her. "Yes. I learned about them, in school." She snickered at the mention of school.

"Sophia, are you alone? Are there others?" I pushed for more information. "No. I have my mom. And others," She started to tear up. "Where are they?" If there were others, I needed to find them. "The road. But I don't know where." Tears started falling.

I pulled her into my lap. "It's okay." The road? Did she mean the highway? If so, it might not be safe to go search for them. "I bet your hungry." And on cue, her stomach growled. "Come on." I carried her to the small kitchen.

I sat her on the counter, and searched around the kitchen. I boiled some eggs, and fried some bacon. "Breakfast for dinner?" She asked, practically drooling all over the place. "Yep. My mom always told me, it's never too late for eggs." I sniffled in some tears. She didn't seem to notice.

"Where's your mom now?" She asked, chugging a glass of water. "She died." I sighed and handed her a plate. "Oh, I'm sorry." She sat at the small table against the wall. "My mom is very pretty." She seemed proud, but her smile said she was sad.

"How did you get seperated from her?" I asked, shoving food in my mouth. "Some walkers. I don't really know," She seemed highly uncomfortable, so I changed the topic. "Well, who is that?" I pointed to the doll sitting on the table.

"No name. A friend gave it to me, before she left." She put her plate in the sink, she was a very polite little girl. "I'm tired." She yawned on cue. "Well, how about we camp in the living room. Much warmer." She just nodded.

I pulled the mattress into the center of the living room. And stoked a small fire. Not enough to produce large amounts of smoke, and draw attention. But enough to keep two people warm. She pulled the blankets over her.

"Chrissy?" She looked up at me with half-lidded eyes. "Do you think we'll find my mom?" My heart sank at her sudden question. I didn't know whether to tell her the truth or what she wanted to hear. To save some pain, I told her we'd find them eventually.

"Goodnight." And with that, she passed out. Doll curled into her chest, and hair falling over her face. She reminded me of myself when I was younger. Poor kid, God knows how long she's been out there.

Tomorrow I would have her help me track down another deer. And teach her some things. Maybe in the process, try to track down the survivors, she's been talking about.

**Glenn's POV**

I can't believe, I actually got lost again. I knew I should have never went off to find water.

Now I'm thirsty and lost. At least it's not nighttime right now. I don't know what I'm going to do when the sun goes down. I have no supplies and two bullets in my gun. Well it's not my gun, it's Rick's. But he loaned it to me. So I guess it's mine.

"Daryl!" Was the first name I decided to call out. But of course there was no response. I swear I hadn't gone that far from the road, and now I am alone. "Rick! Shane!" I tried, but silence. "Damn it." I kicked at the damp ground.

A branch crackled behind me, and I froze. No, it couldn't be a Walker. This far from the road? It makes no sense, that they are coming into the trees. Very slowly, I turned around. And the sound of running feet, and more branches was all I could hear.

Without thinking of who it might be, I took off running. "Glenn?" A small voice called out. I skidded to a stop, and turned around. There was a Walker, and no way he'd call me by name. Then I looked to the left, and saw Sophia. Wait, I found Sophia? She was waving me over to her. So I ran to her and crouched down behind the log.

It was only then that I realized she had company, a girl, about my age. Very pretty from my angle, but that's the least of my concern. I heard a low clicking sound, and Sophia was smiling. The girl held up a bow and arrow. Not a crossbow either, an old fashioned bow.

With a silent, clean shot, the Walker went down. But no one moved for a moment, until she stood up. I stood up and noticed how Sophia seemed to cling to her, practically standing on top of the woman.

"Glenn." Sophia grabbed my hand. I was still in shock, staring at the girl putting the bow back on her back. "So, this is Glenn. My name is Chrissy," Sophia cut her off, "But call her C-J." Sophia hooked hands with this Chrissy person.

"C-J? My name is Glenn." She had an all knowing smile plastered on her face. "I know. Sophia talks about you guys." She started to walk away, Sophia following her. "Wait up," I ran to catch up with them. Right now, it's only us out here. I doubt anyone has even noticed I am gone from the camp. "Glenn, you better keep up." Chrissy said calmly, not threateningly, like anyone else would.

"Where are we going?" I finally decided to ask. "Don't ask questions." Chrissy kind of snapped at me, but it's understandable. The forest was silent as I followed them to where ever. Sophia seemed to trust and like her, why didn't I. If a strange girl, helped save my life, I should trust her. Right now, she's the only one with a weapon.

I glanced down and saw something, that Carol would not like Sophia to have. On her hip was a small holster with a pistol in it. "Sophia, you have a gun?" I asked, and a cabin came into view. "C-J is teaching me to use it." Sophia sounded proud, and Chrissy was just smiling away.

"This your house?" I asked when we got to the porch. "No, a ranger station. I found it by luck after an attack." When her face twisted into pain, I decided not to ask about the attack, she referred to. It was warm inside, and a small fire was smoldering in the fireplace.

Sophia looked comfortable, sinking into the couch. "Have a seat. I'll get you some food." And she disappeared around the corner. "Did she say food?" I mumbled, my mouth salivating over the thought. She came back with a plate, and a cup. The cup was filled with what I took to be tea, and what looked like venison.

"Caught that deer the other day." She smiled, and sat on the floor. Sophia disappeared into another room, and I began savoring the taste of solid food. I was use to beans and water. The tea was minty, and tasted funny, but I drank it anyways.

"So Glenn," She took off her jacket, revealing only a tank top. "Where are the rest of your people? Sophia doesn't know," at the mention of her name, Sophia came back into the room. With two more plates, and handed one to Chrissy.

Over venison and nasty tea, I told her where I had seen them last. "By the river? That's only about two miles." She seemed to be familiar with the surrounding woods. She kind of reminded me of Daryl and Merle. I laughed at the thought.

Sophia had her head in C-J's lap, as Chrissy stroked her hair. "How did you find her?" I asked, rubbing my stomach. "She was hiding in a tree. She's a smart girl," She looked exhausted. Sophia was already passed out, a smile spreading on her lips.

"You can sleep on the couch." She gave me some blankets and pillows. "In the morning, we're going back into the woods. Maybe, pick up your trail. But we come back here, because there is no way to be sure we can find shelter anywhere else." She made a good point, as she laid with Sophia.

Tonight I would get some good sleep. Like the night we spent in the CDC, the couch was really soft. But smelled like dust and pine needles.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sorry Sophia, it's was getting dark. We have to go back." I hugged her head, as she started crying. We spent the day looking for Glenn's trail back to the others. But it sprinkled, and most of his footprints got washed away. Sophia looked absolutely devastated.

I picked her up, like I had the first day I found her. It's been two days since I rescued her, and only one day since Glenn joined us. Sophia quickly fell asleep in my grip, the last of her tears streaming down her chin. Glenn looked devastated too.

"How many of you, are there?" I decided to strike up a conversation. "Nine, not counting me and Sophia." His voice was raspy, and almost a whisper. "Well, we're better off." He seemed shocked by my decision of words. "What's that suppose to mean?"

I could tell I hit some nerve in Glenn, because he was pouting. "I just meant, smaller groups are more manageable. And attract less Stiffs." He seemed to understand now. "Stiffs?" He asked, and was he really that dumb?

"Zombies." He just chuckled, for some reason, I couldn't help but smile. "We call them Walkers." Makes sense I guess. "Whatever their called, we need to be careful." And against my words, Glenn stepped on a branch.

I glanced around, not seeing much of anything, other than trees and shrubbery. "Over there." Glenn pointed to movement in the bushes. On instinct, I pulled us behind some trees. Sophia woke up, and looked around the tree.

I cupped my hand over her mouth, when she opened it, to probably scream. Glenn looked scared out of his mind. I slowly un-holstered the pistol from Sophia's waist, and cocked it. I handed Sophia off to Glenn, even though she was reluctant to let me go.

"How many?" I asked in a hushed whisper. "Two, maybe?" Glenn death gripped Sophia, who hid her face. I handed the gun to Glenn, who just stared at me. "Run back to the house. I'll be back shortly." But he wouldn't move.

"Go!" I said in a loud whisper. He took off, Sophia bouncing in his arms. I put an arrow in the bow, and lined it up with one of the _'Walkers'_ head. The other one looked my way, and advanced towards me. And within seconds, it went down.

But it wasn't by my arrow. I looked over to see Glenn holding up the gun. "I thought I told you to leave?" I sprinted over to him. "I wasn't going to leave you." Sophia reached out, and I took her back into my arms.

"Let's get back. The sun is almost gone from the sky." And we headed towards what, I loosely, liked to call home. None of us spoke, because I was still in alert mode. More and more of those things are showing up. It makes me nervous, and anxious all at the same time.

Once back in the cabin, Sophia turned on some lamps. In return, I closed the blinds and curtains. If a Stiff passes by and sees the light, we might be screwed. It's not like the zombies are exactly dumb. They know a lot more than people give them credit for.

"I'm going to take a bath." I announced, that either of them seemed to care. I grabbed some clothes from the small dresser. Not stopping to allow myself to think about it's previous owner. I trudged to the bathroom, and locked the door.

I let the warm water wash away the days grime. Dirt, mud, sweat, and small amounts of blood, washed forever away. I inhaled and got a whiff of something cooking. Smelled like pancakes, which made me laugh. Breakfast for dinner, seemed like such a normal thing.

Considering that's the only food in this place. Those rangers must have really liked their breakfast. I heard Sophia calling my name, so I shut off the water. The shirt hung loosely over my bra, and the shorts were barely long enough to cover my ass.

"Who cooked?" I asked, still drying my hair, as I came into the kitchen. "Glenn did." Sophia said, beaming a smile around the room. "Good. Saves me the work." I laughed along with them. In any other situation, you'd think we were happy. Because we laughed a lot, together.

But I could tell, most of the laughs were strained or forced. Laughter is just another thing humanity has seemingly lost. It was so long since I heard real laughter, that when I met Sophia, it startled me. But right at this moment, it was an enjoyable sound.

With full stomachs, we lounged around the living room. Sophia was already asleep, and Glenn was drifting in and out of sleep. I tapped him on the knee, and he jumped, because I startled him. I just smiled, "Go to sleep." It was a request not an order, but he seemed to follow it anyways.

"Sophia, come back." I heard Glenn yell, making me sit up. I looked around the room, and the door was open. I heard talking and laughing. The sound was foreign and didn't sound like Glenn or Sophia.

I slowly stood, and grabbed my shotgun. I quickly reloaded it and cocked it, ready to fight off any sign of trouble. I slipped my tennis shoes on, not bothering to get dressed properly. I stood and cautiously approached the door.

I stopped mid-way out the door, and gawked at the group of people in my driveway. Sophia was in what I now took, to be her mother's arms. Glenn was embraced by a brown-haired woman. I counted only eight of them, where's the other one Glenn was talking about?

I hadn't even realized I had my gun raised and aimed at the small group, until Sophia ran up to me. "They found me!" I put my gun down, letting it hang loosely in my hand. No, this isn't fair. Now their going to take off to God knows where, and take Sophia away from me.

I don't wanna be lonely again. Tears unknowingly rolled down my face, and I briskly wiped them away. "You saved my daughter?" A woman spoke, her voice laced with happiness. I just nodded, feeling the rising tension and fear. Glenn joined me on the porch. "It's okay." He whispered putting a comforting hand on the small of my back.

It is definitely not okay, but I followed him to stand in front of everybody. One by one they introduced themselves. Carol clung to Sophia, like her life depended on it. And maybe it might have, but I was not giving up Sophia without a fair fight. I saved her, no way they could just ride in and take her away.

I went to open my mouth, to at least tell them my name. But a familiar voice cut me off and beat me to it. "Chrissy?" And like an echo from my past, Daryl came into view. I dropped the gun and sprinted to him, and he embraced me tightly. He lifted me off my feet, and I started to cry into his neck.

One might think, from looking at us, that we were lovers or something. But he's my brother, my long estranged sibling. He walked me backwards, towards everyone else. They were all just staring in what appeared to be disbelief.

"You two know each other?" Rick asked, smiling bigger than before. Daryl pulled me to stand in front of him, and I noted he was crying too. I've only ever seen him cry a couple times, in his life. And now he was turning into a baby.

"She's my sister," Daryl moved his calloused hands to wipe my cheeks. "Sister?" Glenn asked, not smiling anymore. "I thought you died." I said blankly, and hugged him again. "I thought you died." He nestled into my hair. But something didn't feel right. I looked back from the truck he came from. In the back of it, I saw Merle's bike.

"Where's Merle?" At my question everyone was silence, including Daryl. The pit in my stomach sufaced and I felt like being sick. I backed away from him, and he dropped his arms. "Merle," He was turning paler by the minute.

"No." I said, hitting the ground. "Not Merle. Did he get biten?" I said, between sobs. "We don't know." T-Dog said, making me angrier. "What do you mean you don't know?" I stood and aimed my gun at him. "It's simple. He's either dead, alive, or maggot food. Which is it?"

Even Daryl didn't move towards me, or try to disarm me. T-Dog tried to back away from me, but I followed him. "I'd answer someone with a gun pointed at you." I was still crying, but most of the tears were filled with hatred and anger.

"We handcuffed him to a roof. He was becoming a problem, and I dropped the key. We had to leave him," Leave him? This motherfucker left Merle to die like that? Daryl probably already beat his ass for doing it, but now it's my turn.

I'm not much of a racist or cusser, but the profanity poured from my lips, like blood from a Stiff. "You fuckin' nigger left him to die? You son of a Bitch!" I pistol whipped him with the butt of the gun. "Chrissy, back off." Daryl pulled me back into his arms.

"I see where Daryl must get it from." I don't know who said that, but I'd let it slide for now. "Guys," Dale started but no one listened to him. "Guys, we're not alone." I seemed to be the only one who heard him. And I forgot all anger, for now, and went into defense mode.

"Everyone get inside." And they listened, I followed them into the cramped cabin. I shut and quietly locked the door. "Turn off the lights." I flicked the mainswitch, while everyone else turned off the table lamps.

I knelt in front of the window, and pried the blinds open. "There's not even anyone out there." I sighed and felt like a total idiot. "I know, I just wanted to stop the fighting." Dale is either smart or a total dumbass, waiting to be shot.

"You think that was funny?" I snapped again, and I'm pretty sure my anger was written all over my face. "You think it's funny to cry zombie? I'll show you what's funny," For the third time today, I aimed my gun at another survivor.

"Now put the gun down. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm by it." Daryl shot a glare at the old man, who avoided my eye contact. "I need to talk to you." I yanked Daryl into the kitchen. I'm pretty sure they could all hear me, but it doesn't matter right now. We have a bigger issue to deal with.


	3. Chapter 3

I explained that now that there's more mouths to feed, we'll run out of food too quickly. But Daryl offered to go hunting, and I'd surely go with him. But the point is, it still makes me uneasy to be in such a large group.

We were dispersed around the space available, just sitting in silence. Dale kept smiling at me, like he thought it would make me less pissed, but I had to crack a smile. If he ever pulls a stunt like that again, I am going to shoot him in the face. And I'm not afriad to shoot anyone for that matter.

A couple of times T-Dog went to say something, but I'd glare, and he'd shut his mouth. Finally Glenn broke the God awful silence. "Why didn't you tell us you had a sister?" The question was directed at Daryl, and I was curious too. "Because it's been years since we'd seen eachother. I thought she got away, and just left me and Merle." He wouldn't meet my eye contact.

"I would never leave you." I grabbed his hand and gave a squeeze, causing him to smirk. "What happened to mom?" Daryl decided to ask, what I'd been avoiding. "I shot her, when she got bitten. Let's not talk about it," I felt tears well up in my eyes, but blinked them away. No way would I show that kind of weakness in front of them.

"Thank you for taking us in." Lori was stroking her son's hair. Her son looked sickly pale, and clammy. I stood and walked over to him, "Is he sick?" I decided to smile at them. "Possibly. The kid got shot," Shane was chewing on a toothpick. Such a fuckin' annoyance, his voice made my head hurt.

"Wow. Well, your welcome. It's not liek I could live with myself, if I left you all outside to die." I rustled Carl's hair, and he just smiled up at me. "C-J," I turned to Sophia. "Your going to stay with us right?" She moved from her mom to hug me. I looked around at the broken faces of the group. "Of course." Because why would I leave Daryl right now? I just got him back.

Then it hit me, that I needed space. All these people in one room, was beginning to become to much too handle. I'm not much of a social lite, and hate having their stares focused on me. It's like they never seen a survivor before.

I grabbed the shotgun from against the door, and cocked it. "What are you doin?" Daryl asked, suddenly becoming what looked like worried. "Out on the back porch, I'll be fine. I just want some alone time." He just nodded. I knew if needed he'd come to my rescue in no time flat.

Once outside, I sat on the stairs. Staring at the fading sun behind the forest line. I leaned my head on the short rail, allowing myself to cry some. The memories of my mom came back in flashes, and they were gruesome. Everytime I close my eyes, I either see ehr face, or just another damn monster.

I didn't even bother to see who opened the door, or who sat down next to me. "You okay?" I recognized it as Glenn. His voice was one of the few, I really liked. "I guess." I wiped at my face, not succeeding in making the tears stop.

"We all had to do what was necessary. Sorry about Merle." Why did he bring that up? I'm not even mad about it anymore, because I knew what Merle was like.

"It's nobody's fault. Merle probably had it coming." But that didn't mean it didn't hurt to know that they just left him there to die. He didn't say anything after that, but it was a pleasant silence. Not the kind that was awkward or anything, just nice.

"Do you think," I looked at him awaiting his question. "That the Walkers are stupid? T-Dog has this theory, that their just all dumbasses." He chuckled a little, and this time, it didn't sound truly forced.

"I think their brilliant, for brain dead freaks." I could recount countless times, where they showed their intelligence. "Like one time, I saw a couple find their way into a car. They knew to just pull the handle and the door popped open. But I think their intelligence is limited." He just nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you found Daryl. And that we found Sophia." I closed my eyes again, listening for any sign of danger. "Did you hear that?" Glenn suddenly shook me out of my spacing out. "Wha-?" but I heard it now too.

There was definite movement towards the front of the house. I stood, gun at the ready, expecting the worse. "We need to check it out." Glenn didn't really look like he wanted to, but he followed me anyways. I peeked around the house. "Geeks?" Must be another term for zombies.

"Yeah. Shh!" I hushed him, watching the shadowy figures move by the vehicles. Their not idiots after all, because they knoe there are people in the cabin. I knew we couldn't make it to the front door in time, so I settled with going back to the back porch.

There was a couple walkers coming towards us. "Climb!" I demanded, and Glenn obeyed. We climbed up the porch siding and onto the roof. We laid down in the middle, no way for anything to see us. I saw a small opening in the roof, probably for ventilation or something.

I scooted over to it, and yanked the protective cap off. From here I was above the living room, and I could see the survivors huddled to the floor. they definitely know something is out there. I was right, we are just sitting ducks out here. Waiting for the day this happens, and now it's happening.

All because my kind nature told me to take in the stragglers. If they would of just left all these Stiffs wouldn't be here. "Daryl." I loudly whispered into the house, and he looked up at me. "Stay low. Maybe they'll leave." But Daryl looked skeptical.

We lay in silence, for what felt like forever. "Should we check if their gone?" Glenn asked, turning over onto his tomach, and I did the same. I crawled towards the edge, keeping my head down. "Their not gone." I said moving away again.

"What do we do?" Since when did I have all the answers for everybody? "Can we get inside? Are we safe up here? Can we get through the windows?" His constant questioning was really annoying me. "Stop asking me. I'm not your fuckin' leader, I don't know what to do." I snapped, but didn't yell.

And it was silent again. Too silent for there to be '_geeks_' around. I peered back over the edge, ad noticed they were dispersing into the trees. They must have realized that their not getting a meal anytime soon. "Are we safe?" I just rolled my eyes at Glenn's question.

"Obviously. Let me go down first, I have the gun." He didn't protest. I started to climb down the porch, but lost my holding. I fell backwards off of it, my arm twisting in the process. Even though it wasn't that high, I hit the ground with enough force, to make my chest hurt.

"Chrissy!" Glenn yelped out, but I told him to be quiet. "What's wrong?" Daryl slammed the backdoor open, and ran off the porch, and was at my side. "She fell off." Glenn raked his hands through his hair. Rick and Dale appeared in the doorway.

"Chrissy, are you alright?" Daryl looked like he might cry, which broke my heart. "No." I panted with my chest still hurting. I had almost forgotten about my arm, until Rick pulled me up by it. I crumpled to the ground when the pain ran through my shoulder, and into my neck.

Daryl picked me up and carried me inside, and laid me on the floor. "My arm," I held it tightly with my other hand. I couldn't help but start crying and rolling around in pain. "Let me see it." Rick knelt beside me.

"We might need to pop it back into place." His face twisted at the thought of doing that to me. "Do it." I said, because I don't care right now. "Are you sure? It might hurt," "Just fuckin' do it!" I cut him off.

I gripped onto Daryl's arm for dear life, when Rick put his hands on my shoulder. I had to bite my lip to stop from screaming, and I think I drew blood, because I could taste it. In an instance, there was a very audible popping of joints, then a cry of pain. I've felt worse before, but it still hurt like a mother fucker.

"Take some Tylenol." Lori handed me a glass of water and the pills. I chugged them down, no questions asked. "Damn, that hurts something terrible." I let go of Daryl's arm, and went back to gripping my shoulder. "Get some rest." Carol suggested, but I shook my head in defiance.

"No sleeping. We have to start thinking about getting out of here." I could tell my words shocked some people, others just looked sad. "Why? We have food, shelter, and not to mention power." Shane snapped. I could also tell that no one listened to him.

"I know. But the longer we stay here, the more of those things that are gonna come." I was right, and no one was gonna tell me otherwise. "Your right," Rick looked absolutely flustered. "We have to move." He finished his thought.

"Where were you headed before you found us?" I asked, genuinely out of curiosity. "Fort Blanding, or something like that." Dale was no longer on my bad side, but T-Dog, well he still annoyed me to no ends. "What's there? Nothing, trust me. I've seen it." And I have. "You have?" Shane asked, looking out the window.

"That's where me and mom went. It was overrun, and we got attacked. That's when I had to," but they already know that part. "So it's a dead zone?" Dale looked devastated and like he aged ten years in a couple of minutes. "Literally," I snorted trying to lighten the heavy mood.

"Did Atlanta go down?" I asked, because I've been out in the woods forever. "Yep." T-Dog said, still avoiding eye contact. "Then I don't know where to go." Rick looked so stressed. "Anyone got a map?" I asked, and everyone looked around. Daryl helped me off the floor. Carol handed me a small map, which was in her bag.

I spread it out on the small desk nearby, and studied it hard. The surrounding area was nothing but trees and river. "How much longer can that heap of an RV, go?" By the looks of the thing, it might just fall apart at any moment. "It'll go for a long time. I hope, why?" Dale must be the owner of the piece of junk.

"We need to get back on the road." Daryl seemed to read my mind, and was standing over my shoulder. "But where to?" Lori hugged her son's head against her chest, looking worried. "How about Mississippi?" They all looked at me like I was absolutely insane.

"Last radio report I heard they said it was safe there. Military was held up there, trying to wait out the infection. Might be something there for us." I shrugged off their looks. "We can leave tomorrow. For tonight let's pack whatever we can." Rick looked a little relieved.

* * *

><p>The wind whipped my hair around, in the back of Daryl's truck. He had offered to let me sit in the front with him and Glenn, but I preferred it back here. I could always crawl into the cab through the window. I was also back here making sure nothing flew out of the truck. Including Merle's bike, because it might be the last thing we have of him.<p>

I was semi-dozed off, when the truck halted to a stop. I hit my head on the window, and it hurt so bad. As I rubbed my head, I looked through the cab and out the windshield. Just as suspected, Dale's RV broke down again. "Damn it." I heard Daryl curse and get out. I chose to stay put in the truck.

I looked up to see Glenn jumping into the truck bed. He stumbled a little and almost fell backwards. I had to laugh at him, and he just smiled and blushed. He sat next to me against the cab window. "So, how's your arm?" Speaking of that, I almost forgot it even hurt.

"I'm fine." I said, because I was. Everything was going according to plan so far. We had gathered all the food we could from the ranger station, and packed it into the truck and the car trunks. We took the blankets in the closet and even a couple of pillows. Such useless items if you ask my opinion.

But bringing stuff like that, seemed to make the children and women more at ease. So who was I to bust there little bubble? "You look parched." Glenn handed me a water bottle, and I chugged it down. I was drenched form head to toe with sweat and dirt, that flew up from the road.

"Why don't you come in the cab? It's much cooler," He sounded so tempting and I considered it. My body hated me for sitting in the sun for this long. I was starting to get a sunburn on my shoulders and legs. That's what I get for wearing a tank top and shorts.

"He's right." Daryl made me jump, and he offered me his hand. I grabbed my bag and he helped me over the side. "Is the RV ready to go?" I looked past him at the last smoke rolling from the pile of scrap metal. "It's fine. Get in," I scooted to the middle seat. Glenn got in on my other side.

It was going to be a long road to Mississippi, from Georgia. Might as well get comfortable in the truck, because for all we know, it's the only place I can confidently call home. So I closed my eyes, the night's weariness catching up to me. Because I barely slept in days, I was still so worried about everybody and everything.

I leaned my head back on the seat, but it rolled to land on Daryl's shoulder. I think it impaired his driving so he pushed me towards Glenn. And I finally settled with laying on him, my bag at our feet. He didn't seem to mind, and when I opened my eyes a little to glare at my brother. I saw Glenn blushing to the point even his neck was turning red.

I just chuckled and closed my eyes, hoping for a few seconds of peaceful rest. Which seemed impossible, because of my constant nightmares. Or in this case, day-mares? Day terrors? Day dreams more like it.


	4. Chapter 4

"Only grab what we need." I more or less ordered and they nodded in agreement. We had to stop to try to get gas, or as much as we could. Dale, Andrea, Sophia, Carol and Carl stayed with the RV. Shane and Rick went to siffle gas from abandoned cars. Daryl was helping Dale with the RV. Lori was in the RV, running a fever.

That left me with T-Dog and Glenn. Of all people to stick me with, why did it have to be T-Dog? Glenn, on the other hand, I didn't mind. He looked like he was pretty handy with a baseball bat. Our job was to explore the small market across the street from the gas station.

We split up, carts in tow. I put T-Dog in charge of looking at toiletries, mainly because I wanted him nowhere near me. I put Glenn to looking through the vegetables and fruits, seeing what was left. Probably not much, because it looks like people already cleared out the store.

My cart hit something, and I realized what it was. There were bodies in the aisles, some stacked against each other. Flies and maggots crawled all over the place. I have a strong stomach, but this was too much, stench for me. I leaned over and vomited, and wiped my mouth.

As I sat back up, I noted movement, and it was coming at me fast. Instead of screaming like some pussy, I pulled some of the bodies on top of me. Hoping it would mask enough of my smell, and whatever it was would go away. Low groans echoed around me, and I felt like vomiting again.

When I thought it was safe, I pushed my way out from under the bodies, and sat on my knees. I looked up to snarling teeth and bloody eyes, smiling at me, like we was friends. I backed up slowly, not wanting to draw attention from other walkers that might be here.

But I realized I was cornered, as another Stiff crawled towards me, it's legs hanging from it's body. I resorted to my Plan B, but realized my gun was in the cart. "Damn it." I growled, wanting to just disappear into the wall.

As they grabbed at me, I started kicking, trying to move them away from me. "Glenn!" My voice cracked, but I screamed again. "Daryl!" I felt the tears running down my neck, before I knew what fate had ins tore for me. "Help!" Did anyone even hear me?

I kept kicking, until I felt nothing left to kick at. For the first time in a while I felt vulnerable and weak, and like I just wanted to be held. Glenn had knocked the head off of one, and T-Dog saved my ass with the other monster.

"Are you okay?" Glenn was panting, and I couldn't speak. All I could do was grab at his shirt, pulling him into me. He stood, with me in his arms, and T-Dog went and grabbed my gun. "Their dead, it's okay." But Glenn's gentle words seemed to have no effect on me. "I want my brother!" Were the only words I could get out.

Without much thought, we left the store. T-Dog was pushing the cart of things him and Glenn collected. "Where's Daryl?" Glenn hadn't let me go, and I buried my face in his shoulder. "He's inside, why?" Dale put a hand on my back but I flinched away.

Andrea disappeared into the station then moments later emerged with Daryl. "Chrissy, what's wrong?" He quickly snatched me from Glenn's arms, into his own. "She got attacked." Glenn explained, as I saw Rick and Shane appear. "Who got attacked?" Shane asked, but I think it was pretty obvious.

Never before in my life have I ever felt like I was going to truly die. Not even when our camp was attacked, or even all those attacks at the Ranger Station. I was fearless when I had to shoot my mother, and I was fearless in killing any one of those zombie things.

But something about how close they had gotten, and the damage they almost did, it unnerved me. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, as I tried to pull myself together. Daryl walked me back to his truck, and we sat inside it, his arm still around my shoulder. "Chrissy," he sounded more nervous than Glenn did.

"I shouldn't have sent you in there without me." And for the first time I got a look at his face. He looked older than he really was, and had permanent frown lines around his mouth. His eyes were red and dry and kind of swollen. Had he been crying a lot recently? "It's not your fault. It's mine, I was careless." I would happily take the blame.

"Whatever." But I knew that was his way of dealing with stressful situations, to just blow them off. The passenger door opened and Glenn hopped in. "Dale said we can go now." His voice never ceased to calm me down a little. But I had a nagging feeling like those two Stiffs were just a signal of what lies ahead for us.

I can't be certain that place in Mississippi, is even up and running. But it had to be better than some back woods, run down shack. Or living in a campsite, or something. I stared out at the road ahead of us, it was a small town. It's total population probably already down to zero. Not much to see, except more bodies and empty vehicles.

As we passed one I saw a child in the backseat, hunched over and still. I closed my eyes and grabbed Glenn's hand. He just squeezed it upon occasion, assuring me that it'd probably be over soon. I think we were on another interstate, because we were slowing down, meaning something was in our way. Probably cars or more bodies.

"I need some air." I announced, finally opening my eyes. I actually wanted to cry in peace, even if that meant being exposed to the elements. I slid the back window open, wide enough for me to crawl through. Daryl just silently handed me my gun once I was properly seated in the truck bed.

AS the wind messed with my hair again, I pulled it back into a bun. I looked forward at the passing scenery, of metal and blood. My eyes began to water like the floodgates had opened. I haven't had a chance to even mourn the death of my loved ones. I put on a brave front about killing my mother, when really I would have just shot myself instead. But she told me not to give up like that, because there are people out there who need me.

What a great time for the emotional trench to open, and spit out whatever it has in it. Every memory of every face I saw in pain at Fort Blanding, to the look on Sophia's face when she was up in that tree. All of it just bothered me, and it ate away at me slowly. And soon I'd become no more than a soulless body walking around, going through the daily motions. All I could see when I looked at the cars and clothes on the road were the people they use to belong to.

Kids, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and pets. Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and cousins; all dead and gone. No one even left to mourn for the loss. Maybe Andrea is right, and there is no hope. No rhyme or reason to keep living like this, constantly afraid for your life and always having to be on the run. It takes a pretty mighty toll on the heart.

I heard us pull to another stop, but didn't bother to check why. When Daryl saw my face, he just waved for Glenn to leave me be. I would suspect Sophia or Glenn or even Lori to come check on me. But instead it was Carl. He climbed into the truck bed with much better ease than Glenn could, and It made me smile a little.

I hadn't really talked to Carl, even though he's tried. I'm just busy or tired or just not interested, and he seems to understand. "It's the people isn't it?" He sat across from me, eyes squinted into the sun behind me. "What people?" I scratched the back of my head in confusion.

"I remember when I first had to look at all the casualties. It was graphic and horrid and it made me sick." He still managed to smile through it all, and how he managed I had no idea. "Well, how did you get over it?" I asked, rubbing my sore eyes. "I didn't. I just got use to it, and I was almost a casualty. So I just pushed it out of my mind. Soon, I stopped thinking about it so much."

Not a word was said after that, and it was nice. Lori and Rick came up to the truck, and smiled at the chuckling kid. "Come on, we're leaving." Lori put a strong hand on his shoulder, but he slumped away from it. "Can I stay with Chrissy for a while? I promise not to cause trouble." Rick looked to me, and I just nodded in approval. "You can stay." They kissed him and left.

Daryl eyed Carl when he got in the truck, probably worried about another body being put under his responsibility. He had me, Glenn, himself, and now carl to worry about. Carl moved beside me to avoid the wind gush, as we picked up some speed. "Why'd you wanna stay with me?" I decided to finally ask. He just shrugged, "Sophia said you're a great person to hang out with. That girl seems to idolize you." And with that it fell silent again.

It was getting darker, and creepier. It was too quiet and the wind had stopped blowing, and turned into barely a breeze. The Georgia night was just as humid as the long day, but felt warmer. "I'm scared." Carl admitted, and I pushed him into a laying down position. I heard Glenn roll up the windows in the truck, and now I know why. Walkers on the highway, because they can never just leave us alone.

"Shit." I quickly untied one of the sleeping bags we packed and un rolled it, and unzipped it. "Get in it." I ordered to Carl and he did as fast as he could. I laid down to and threw some extra tarp over my body. I made sure I could see Carl the whole time, and made sure he was against the cab. I saw the light on the road dim a little, as the cars turned off their headlights.

I grabbed my gun and reloaded and cocked it. Ready to aim at whatever decided to grab at me. "Chrissy?" I saw Carl's arm reaching out to me, so I grabbed it. "Shh!" And he was silent again. There were loud moans and grunts as we passed by smaller groups of the undead bastards. We are in for one long night, so I sighed and laid down my gun. I had faith that we would be unscratched and not bitten, by the time we get off of this God forsaken stretch of asphalt.


	5. Chapter 5

**Glenn's POV**

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Carol said leaning away from the truck. Carl was cuddled against the cab of the truck, with Chrissy's arms around him, and the sleeping bag over him. She had her gun behind her, within reach. "I told you she'd protect Carl." Rick patted Lori on the shoulder. And actually it did appear that Chrissy was laying over him to protect him, and possibly keep him warm. Not to mention the Walkers on the road we encountered last night.

"Do we wake them up?" Lori smiled at her sleeping son. "Yes," Daryl put his hand on Chrissy's shoulder, and in a split second she had her shotgun aimed at him. "Oh. Daryl?" She put her gun down and rubbed her eyes. "Come on Carl." She had woken him up too and now Lori had him in her arms. Her and Rick went back up to the RV, along with Carol, Sophia, and Andrea.

"Nice reflexes." Daryl just smiled and went back to the RV, following the others. "Come on, I think they wanna talk to us." I offered her my hand, and helped her from the truck. I expected her to drop my hand as soon as she was flat-footed on the concrete, but she kept ahold of it. Making my heart go absolutely sporadic and jump around in my ribcage. But to my misfortune she released it when we joined the group.

"We're almost to the state line. We'll need to stop again before we cross it, gas up is needed." Shane announced looking only at the gas guzzling RV. "We're assigning duties." Rick said, looking around behind us. "Duties?" T-Dog was going to probably complain, when he should just shut up for once. "Yes. So our efforts when we stop are easier." Rick continued. I think it's a great idea because things will go a lot smoother.

"No way am I allowing my sister to do that." Daryl was getting snappy on Chrissy's part, and Chrissy was just silent and pale. Chrissy, me and T-Dog got assigned permanent search duty, because we all know how well that went last time. "But we need you out here to help and protect us." Dale was being the voice of reason again, not that it mattered to Daryl much. "Who'll protect C-J?" He looked genuinely pissed, and I need to calm the situation. "I'll protect her, I promise." I am pretty sure I can keep her safe.

"I don't know," Daryl was looking at T-Dog when he said that. "Give me more than a pistol, and I can protect anyone." T-Dog jumped into defense mode. "If one hair is messed up on her head, both of you are dead!" He didn't have to wave his crossbow in our faces, to get his point across. Slowly everyone trickled away from the group, going back to their respected territories. We were stopped at an empty rest area for the night, because everyone is tired of driving.

(Break)

"Glenn?" I snapped my head around, and then down. I found a scared looking Chrissy, which I found odd. "What?" I asked, but she just waved me down. I climbed silently as to not wake anyone in the camper. I had been on guard duty along with Shane, who scares me more than the zombies. I realized she was unarmed and was wiggling a lot. "I really have to pee!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the restrooms. "What am I supposed to do about it?" I asked, when we stopped running. "Stand guard. Do you have a flashlight?" I handed her the one from my pants back pocket. She flicked it on and blinked at the sudden bright light. I cocked the medium sized shotgun, Shane had reluctantly let me have or use. The door creaked shut, and I was left alone in the dark.

Just as I leaned against the wall by the door, it opened and made me jump. C-J just laughed and turned red in the face from laughing so hard. She lit the path back to the RV, and I laughed because why didn't I think of using the flashlight on the way to the bathroom? "Glenn, will you stay with me?" She asked, reluctantly handing me the light, but I just handed it back to her. "Mind keeping post with me?" She just nodded.

We were back on the semi-safety of the roof of the RV. I could see Shane sitting on the hood of Carol's car, just below us. C-J was leaning back in the folding chair, looking at the sky. I followed her gaze and noticed how clear it was and how vibrant. It wasn't quite black but not blue, kind of purplish. I can never remember seeing the stars this clearly, before the apocalypse. I had given Chrissy my baseball bat, that I had since forever. She had swung it around a couple times, and could probably easily knock off a Walker's head.

Every time I would look over to her, her eyes would be getting droopier and droopier. Until they finally fully closed and she fell asleep. I broke my gaze away from her to see a pacing Daryl, by his truck, looking out into the dark corners of the rest stop. It was creepily quiet but not in a bad way. There was no moaning or grunting or dragging of limbs. There was no yelling or screaming, and certainly no chomping noises. I relaxed a little knowing we had people around to protect us.

Even though Shane scares me I highly doubt he would leave anyone to just die. I figured it had to be only around 11:00. Which meant the night was passing way too slowly, and needed to go faster. The faster the days go by the faster we can get out of Georgia. It is way too hot in Georgia even at night, and I'm drenched. I haven't showered in God knows how long, if you don't count washing your face in water. But that doesn't clean anything, if not it makes it worse. I wish we were back at the CDC, with the nice couches and the warm showers.

But then Daryl would have never found Chrissy, and she'd probably be Walker food by now. I've never seen Daryl smile more than when he looks at his sister. And her smile reaches her ears when she's with him, and I'm happy they had a family reunion. I wonder how the group would feel if I started developing an attachment to Chrissy, ever since she rescued me. The way she took in not only me but Sophia, when she clearly was fine living on her own. The way she took care of us during those few days, and the way she's willing to get hurt to save another life. Heck as much as she dislikes T-Dog right now, she'd probably save him before herself. And I loved those kinds of people.

She stirred in her sleep, like she was dreaming or something. I wondered what was happening in that head of hers. Probably what we all dream about; the lost loved ones, pets, friends, and the endless Walker nightmare we live every day. I hadn't realized how close we were actually sitting, until her head rested on my shoulder. It was nice to have any form of physical contact with her at this point. I missed her holding my hand but it seemed to weird her out, so I never tried to grab her hand.

I obviously had fallen asleep at some point because I woke to the sound of starting cars. Chrissy wasn't beside me, and when did I get in the truck? When did Chrissy start driving? When did Daryl get so close beside me, tightly gripping his crossbow?

I looked around as we were leaving the rest area, and the only restroom for miles. Chrissy's eyes were solely focused on her eyes, but occasionally would drift to Daryl's sleeping face. He exhausts himself for the group, and no one even thanks him. "So Glenn," I stared back at her and she wasn't even looking at me. "What did you do before this?" It's the exact same question everyone seems to ask me at some point in time. "I delivered pizzas. You?" She shifted and sped up.

"I stayed home with my mother. She was ill and basically bed-ridden," she didn't get to finish her story before the caravan slowed to almost a halt. I craned my neck to see what was going on and noticed a group of Walkers coming at us down the street. With a couple clicks the doors were locked and the windows were rolled up. "Daryl wake up." She patted his face and he sat right up.

We stayed still as Walkers started passing by the truck, and my breathing hitched. We slid as far as we could down into the seats, and I was practically in the floor board. I closed my eyes because I hate the look on the zombie's faces. I snapped them right back open, when I heard a scream echoed through the closed truck. The driver side window had been smashed in, and Walkers were grabbing at Chrissy. One even managed to pull her arm out a little, but she pulled back in time.

The caravan started moving again but faster this time. Daryl took over the wheel as I noticed blood pouring from her arm. There was some blood running down the broken glass of the window, and most of it wasn't from the Walkers. She was paler than anyone I have ever seen in my whole life, gripping her arm and blood oozing from between her fingers. Daryl laid on the horn once we were a distance away from the retreating horde. All the cars immediately stopped.

"Shit! Shit motherfucker that hurts!" She squirmed in her seat with tears streaking her flushed face. Her shirt and jeans were already soaked in blood, and she even had blood on her face and neck. Daryl pulled her out of the truck and carried her bridal style to the RV. "What happened?" But no one answered Lori's question. Daryl laid her on the hood of Carol's car and ripped his shirt up. Pressing really hard into the wound on her arm and the whole time her screaming bloody murder. It seemed to break my heart every time she would cry out.

It got so bad to the point Chrissy passed out. I'm talking her eyes rolled back and her body convulsed a little. I've only ever seen that happen in TV or when you were bitten by one of those things. Daryl put her comfortably in the back of the truck, and I sat with her. He had reluctantly given me a gun to protect ourselves. I made sure there was enough excess tarp to cover us, in case something happens later on. Rick was in the cab discussing routes and plans and other boring stuff, which I found disinteresting.

Her head was in my lap, with her body stretched out the best we could manage. The shirt around her arm on tight enough that she stopped bleeding. I had taken the liberty to wipe her off, because the extra blood will only attract Walkers' attention and that's the last thing we need again


	6. Chapter 6

My arm felt like it was on fire and pulsating like it was infected. I really hoped it wasn't because I was running out of antibiotics. The same antibiotics I was told Merle use to take because of The Clap he sometimes got from sleeping around. My brother is such a womanizing whore who deserved the nasty disease.

When people would ask me how I'm feeling or to see my arm, I'd tell them I was fine or make up an excuse. I was sweating because I had a fever, but the Georgia sun was the excuse I had for getting drenched. And not to mention I could barely move my arm or it would shoot pain through my shoulder. I had to swing Glenn's bat with only one hand but no one seemed to notice or bothered to say anything about it.

But now it had come to the point that I had to tell someone because what if it kills me? Daryl would freak out, Glenn would want to baby me and I didn't want that, Shane might see me as wasted space and wanna get rid of me. Rick, Lori and Andrea would panic; Sophia, Carl, and Carol would just avoid the situation. And I didn't trust T-Dog enough to confide in him. So that left me to talk to Dale.

"Dale, are you in here?" We were stopped again for a short break. "I'm in the back." I walked through the spacious RV to the bedroom area. Dale was sitting on the bed reading something that looked boring to me. I sat down next to him. "Dale, we have a problem." He just looked at me and I started crying. "What is it honey?" He put his arm over my shoulder kind of like my dad use to do.

"Look." I rolled up my shirt sleeve and peeled back the bandage. It was completely soaked through and stuck a little, pulling up some skin when I peeled it back. I winced and just bit my lips in pain. "I think it's getting worse." I admitted and he took my arm into his hands, making sure not to touch the exposed wound. "Looks disgusting," but he didn't sound like he was trying to make a joke or anything. "Your veins are turning blue. It's definitely infected, have you taken the antibiotics?" I just nodded knowing he knew I was sneaking them out of the medical bag when I could.

"It hurts really bad." He pulled out a small first aid kit. "I have an idea. But it'll hurt like hell itself." I didn't care as long in the long run it felt better. He instructed me to lie down and trust him… which I did. He told me that he was going to have to squeeze the puss pocket out and I immediately wanted to vomit. He said he'd have to pour alcohol into the wound before and after, and again I wanted to vomit. He was going to practically operate on me without any anesthesia or proper equipment. Then the words I dreaded were that he'd have to sew it up afterwards and pray for the best.

He told me to try not to move too much or scream, as to not alert any straggler Walkers. But how am I not supposed to scream when he had to cut into the wound? What he was talking about scared the shit out of me. But if it would save me from the nightmarish infection, then it was all worth the risk.

He started by putting a tourniquet on my forearm just above the cut. Tying it tight enough to cut off blood circulation. He positioned my arm over a bucket so I wouldn't make too big of a mess. He poured half a bottle of alcohol over it, and fire was sent through my veins again. I bit into a nearby pillow trying to keep my arm from spasming with the pain. With the slightest pressure he pushed down around the wound, and I got glimpse of nasty looking blood.

The pain was overwhelming and I had to let out a scream. The scream was most likely loud enough to alert everyone to something going on, and it seemed to startle Dale. I passed out when the pain took over every inch of my body.

**Glenn's POV**

A blood curdling scream ripped through the small rest area. The closer we got to the state line the more and more of these places appeared. I dropped the bag I had in my hands and followed suit behind everyone else. The screaming was from Dale's RV; Daryl was the first one to get there.

"What are you doing?" Daryl snapped I'm guessing at Dale. I looked over to where Dale was looking and there laid Chrissy. Her arm was a bloody, oozing mess. She wasn't moving and it looked like she was barely breathing. "She asked me to help her. Please let me. Or she could die!" That's the first time I ever heard Dale raise his voice at anyone, none the less Daryl of all people. Daryl backed off as soon as Dale said she could die.

Damn her arm looked gnarly and sickening. I don't know what exactly Dale was doing but it seemed to be working. I noted that her blood came out with a weird color tint that I assumed was infection. Why didn't she tell anyone? Daryl sat in the corner of the RV with his head in his hands. I swear I heard him crying but I'd never confront him about it. He'd deny it anyways and tell me to fuck off, so it wasn't worth getting yelled at.

It was just me, Daryl, Dale, and Chrissy's lifeless body in the cramped vehicle. "Look, the blood is running clean." Dale seemed proud of his work and he has every right to be. I bet you not a single person in camp would even attempt to help the situation, and maybe that's why she came to Dale first. When he had a sufficient amount of blood in the stained bucket he pressed gauze to her arm. She still wasn't moving. And he started sewing it up.

He wrapped her arm in three layers of bandage and tape. And just to be sure he put an ace bandage around it all. Tight enough that it would stop bleeding and loose enough so her arm wouldn't turn purple. I helped Dale put watered down cloths on her body, trying to break her fever. When you touched her skin it was like sticking your hand on a luke warm stove. The only time I've felt a fever hotter than hers was when you were bitten.

"How much longer until she wakes up?" Daryl asked when we walked out of the RV. "Depends. She lost a lot of blood and is probably in minor shock. She should be fine though." Daryl just smiled and stalked off somewhere. "Thanks for helping me in there." We washed our hands with bourbon to kill any germs and get the blood off. Somehow my hands were covered in her blood and it was completely disgusting.

We decided to keep moving. Shane was driving Daryl's truck, with a bag over the broken window. Me and Daryl were riding with Dale and Chrissy. Not that Chrissy was conscience yet but Daryl sat right next to her on the bed. I sat at the small table looking at state maps and some torn apart books. None of it interested me as my mind drifted back to C-J.

She was trying so hard to be brave and not complain that she let an infection almost kill her. But I guess that was just her personality or something but it was a flaw. I hope she gets better because I think Daryl will kill himself if he loses another person. People can only be pushed so far until they break down and Daryl was so close to losing it already. It was almost like walking on pins and needles around him. But I understand where he might be coming from because we did just leave Merle to die a horrible death. And we know he made it off that roof alive but we haven't found any sign of him.

"Chrissy!" I heard Daryl exclaim and It broke my thoughts back to reality. She came stumbling up the RV and towards the front seat. "Dale," She sighed and slouched into the passenger seat. "You should be sleeping." Dale reached over and felt her forehead. She just shrugged and relaxed into the seat.

**Main POV**

My arm still hurt like hell but it already felt tons better. My head was pounding on the other hand but it was manageable. I was helping Dale navigate through all the small towns we had to go through in Alabama. The endless driving was boring and took forever to weave in and out of broken down cars. Piles of bodies on the sides of the streets made my stomach slightly churn, and not in a good way.

I felt eyes piercing into the back of my head and the seat. I know Daryl and Glenn are watching me but their probably just making sure I am alright. I was beyond thankful to Dale because he might have just saved my life. I would have to remember to repay him somehow later on down the road.

It was getting dark but we kept driving. Dale looked more exhausted than I did and I felt bad for him. I leaned over and told him I would take the wheel, and he agreed. He moved to the back of the RV, and I got in the driver's seat. It only took a couple of seconds for me to start the vehicle again and keep going. Daryl moved to the passenger seat with his crossbow in his lap and being gripped incredibly tight.

"You scared me." He admitted looking out the window and not at me. "I was scared too. My life was on the line." I relaxed back into the highly comfortable seat. "Can I be honest with you?" He asked, still not looking directly at my face but at my wrapped arm. I just nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I missed you so much. Dad never even let us talk about you and mom. I think it upset him too much to think about it. I'm sorry we just lost contact, and I feel terrible for it. I love ya, kid." He rustled my hair and messed up my fringe but I didn't care. "I love you too." I never knew my brother to be so sentimental.

I glanced in the mirror and saw Glenn passed out on the table and a map gripped tightly in his fist. Damn I am wired and not even close to being tired. Daryl seemed to be dozing off but whatever because at least he was with me. I had missed him and even Merle. I missed our old life and our old house. I missed dad but not as much as I probably should have. I wonder if we will ever find Merle?


	7. Chapter 7

Life seemed to become a lot clearer since that zombie attack that could have ended my life. It's like everything is in Technicolor and alive again. For the first time in a long time I felt good about living in this messed up world. I wanted to bask in this warm sun forever or at least for a while longer.

I wish we didn't have to move around so much and so often but I understood we had to. It was in our basic human design to survive for as long as possible. Maybe things will stay like this and we will not have to face reality. If it only last a day I would be happy.

You would think this whole zombie situation would be terrible, and don't get me wrong, it is. But it has also blessed me with finding my brother Daryl and knowing what happened to the other parts of my family. I had found a friendship with not only Sophia or Glenn but with eight others. A group of amazing people who all care for one another.

I realized a few days ago that I would rather give my life, than any one of them gets hurt in any way. They had become my awkward, annoying, loud and crazy family. Sure we didn't all get along but we fit together. If anyone was missing from the group, even T-Dog, it wouldn't be the same. We all had a certain notch in the chain we fit into.

In my case I had somehow been put in the position of a go to person. Carl even told me once that I was close to the ranking of Rick or Shane. I still couldn't decide if I liked this sudden change in power.

It's like they expect so much from me especially little Sophia. Carl's right it does appear she looks up to me. I guess I make a decent role model for her. I'm envious of her relationship with Carol.

"C-J? Chrissy!" Daryl snapped his fingers in front of my face. "What? Huh?" I looked around at the eyes staring at me and became uncomfortable. "Do you wanna go or not?" Shane asked and I still didn't know what they were talking about. "Where are we going?" I asked, and some of them sighed. "What is wrong with you?" Shane snapped at me and it was so uncalled for.

"Nothing. I'm sorry," but he put his hand for me to be quiet. Shane was the kind of people who liked to control and intimidate people. And so far it was working on me, because he sometimes scared me. "You need to stop spacing out. Where's your head? Maybe if you would have been paying attention, you wouldn't have gotten attacked before." Why did he decide to make me his target?

"Shane." Rick tried to grab his arm but Shane shook it off. "We need you. But not if every second you're going to zone us out. What if we got swarmed and you decided to daydream? We would all die, including Sophia and your little boy toy." He pointed to Glenn who just looked flushed and embarrassed. "Shane stop." Daryl bitterly said between his clenched jaw.

"Maybe if you were paying attention before you wouldn't have fallen off that roof. Were you spacing then too? And you would have been Walker food in that market, if you thought to look before you went prancing around collecting useless shit." He wasn't there that day, I did look, and I didn't see them. It was a stupid trick of the eye, a mistake. What is his problem?

"Why are you like this?" I asked, gritting my teeth together. I was pissed off now because he ruined my good day. He took my happiness and crushed it like aluminum foil, and tossed it aside. "Because the last time someone got distracted they got killed." So was this his twisted way of looking out for me? I didn't care because my anger had finally bubbled to the point I needed to punch something. Even if that something might be Shane's smiling face.

"You don't know me," I stepped towards him a bit and he tensed. "You have no right to talk to me like that. If not for me you would probably be the Walker food. I took you in, when I should have just shot you in the face; it would have saved me so much trouble." Just to prove a point I whipped around the shotgun form my back. "Give me a good reason as to why I shouldn't just pull the trigger?" I rested the gun against his forehead, looking him dead in the eyes.

"Walkers would hear it." Lori offered and I knew she was right. I put the gun back in its back holster, and turned away from Shane. "Now, where you talking about going earlier?" I asked looking at the sprawled out map on the hood of Carol's car. No one said anything; they all just stood around gawking at me. I stalked off towards the safety of the RV, and away from their judgmental stares.

"Honey, mind if I come sit with you?" Dale asked climbing up onto the roof with me. I just sat staring off at the trees and the pretty blue sky. "I'm glad someone stood up to him." He sat next to me on the edge of the RV, with our legs dangling over the side. His statement just made me chuckle and smile; forgetting about all my pent up anger. "Look, he was right though." I sighed knowing he was right and so was Shane. "Anything you care to talk about?" I just shrugged.

"Like where you go when you stare off into space." He laid back and was staring off at the sky too. I felt like he was a trustworthy ally and gave off a father-like aura. "It's all just too much." I lay back next to him, feeling at ease for the time being. "I have so many different emotions tearing at me. Most of them are eating me up, and sometimes I wonder if it's better to be one of them. They don't seem to feel much of anything except constant hunger." He was just silent, so I continued.

"I told you guys I was fine, but I'm not." I felt my face turn hotter than usual and the tears trickle down my cheeks and into my hair. "Right before I found Sophia, I was thinking about shooting myself. Just taking my head off or anything to get me out of this nightmare. If not for her, I'd be dead." And every word was true.

"I felt so guilty that I couldn't find her mother for her. I felt bad for hurting T-Dog and I felt bad for almost getting him and Glenn hurt at that store. I feel like they are my responsibility and I can't handle it. It's suffocating me slowly." He just smiled over at me, and didn't need to say anything. Just getting it off my chest made me feel better.

"Well it's because they trust you." His voice was so comforting and reminded me a lot of my father's. "They know your there for them. And it works both ways." He always sounded so wise and I was at a loss for words. And just like that he gestured for me to follow him into the actual vehicle. I didn't know why but his RV seemed a lot cozier now.

"Take this." He folded my hand around something that felt like metal. When I opened my hand there was a ring in the palm of my hand. The band looked like vines holding a small crystal. "What's this?" I asked, and he just closed my hand back over it. "It was my wife's." He sighed and sat at the table. "Oh no, I can't take this." I tried to put it on the table but he grabbed my wrist. "Please take it. It might bring you good luck, and make you happy. It always made Irma happy." Irma must be his wife; I wonder what happened to her. But now is not the time to ask.

"It would mean a lot to me if you could keep it safe." He smiled and let go of my wrist. "Thanks." I slipped it onto my finger and it fit perfectly. "Dale! Chrissy!" Rick yelled out breaking the nice bonding moment. "What?" Dale asked when we joined the others outside the cars. "We're going to go explore those houses." Rick pointed to a small patch of neighborhood.

I got sent with Glenn and T-Dog because they were now part of my assigned "team". Dale had completely changed my mood again, and things seemed less bleak. It didn't feel like at any moment the ground would open up and Hell would swallow them into the ground. Although I'm sure the zombie apocalypse felt like Hell in some ways.

We split up to take separate floors; with t-Dog on the second floor and me with Glenn on the first level. I rummaged through the bathrooms to find pills or medical supplies. "C-J come here." Glenn called form the kitchen. He was excitedly pulling out canned food from the cabinets. "I think our luck just changed." He handed me a can of spam I have never been happier to see.

"Oh man! This is enough to last a couple weeks." He was like a child in an apocalyptic candy store. We were so distracted we didn't notice T-Dog come into the room. "I found some ammo. Imagine that in a place like this." I guess Dale was right and this ring is bringing me good luck. But it freaks me out because where there is good luck, there is bad luck.

"Wow, look what I found." Glenn held up keys and his eyes lit up. "Glenn and his cars." T-Dog laughed and even if I didn't get the joke I laughed to. My day was going perfect again. But that freaked me out to because it's like the calm before a zombie storm. We packed everything into plastic bags and our backpacks and headed outside.

Glenn stopped in front of the open garage. He fumbled with trying to fit the keys into the car door locks. And finally one opened and he laughed. "I have a car!" He jumped around and seemed to be enjoying himself. "It's a gas guzzler." T-Dog probably burst his bubble. "It has a full tank. When it runs out I will ditch it. For now," He started it up and it purred to life. "Who's riding with me?" And I raised my hand.

T-Dog walked back to the group to explain where me and Glenn were. When the caravan started we pulled up beside the RV in a 1998 Camaro. It was a nice cherry color and the interior was light gray. I have never seen a more beautiful piece of machinery. "Nice ride." Dale leaned out the window. And we pulled away from the empty houses and headed for the interstate again.

**Glenn's POV**

I can't believe I have another car. It was in decent condition and sounded so sweet as I laid on the gas pedal. Chrissy had her head out the window and her eyes closed. The way her hair flew around her pale face and caught on her eyelashes, was so cute. I couldn't describe what I was feeling at that moment in time. I've had girlfriends before but none of my relationships worked out.

Something about the mysterious girl sitting next to me made me feel nice. Her laugh and voice enchants me and clouds my thoughts. When she cries I want to destroy whatever caused her to break down.

And when she looks at me with that sad smile she always has it breaks my heart. It's not pity that I'm feeling but guilt. Because in a way I helped leave her brother to die. And that has haunted me ever since.

The caravan slowed down to a normal speed and Chrissy's eyes opened. She sat up in her seat and sat out the window. Her legs on the inside and her hands gripping to the window frame.

She seemed to be enjoying herself and she deserves it. "This is so exhilarating." And there goes her insane laugh again. Daryl pulled up beside us in the truck. I could barely hear their exchange of words.

"Having fun?" Daryl asked with a hint of muse in his voice. "Hell yeah!" C-J squealed. "Good to know." She reached out and grabbed something from her brother. When she sat back in the car fully she showed me what was in her hand. "Wow he gave you booze." I gawked at the bottle of Jack laying in her lap.

My eyes wondered up her arm and stopped on her rising and falling chest. I trailed my eyes up to her mouth as the bottle went to her lips. "God that's good. Want some?" She held the bottle out towards me. "No thank you. I can't hold alcohol." I remember that massive hangover at the CDC and now I hated liquor.

She just kept drinking until the bottle was empty. She set it by her feet and stared out the window. I noticed tears rolling down and matting into the loose strands of hair on her face.

"Hey. Why are you crying?" I tried to hide the panic in my voice but I failed. "My arm hurts, and my head. I'm not even drunk! And I feel like complete shit." I guess she just needed to vent.

"I haven't showered in what feels like months. I miss my family and my dog. I miss normal lives where people went to school and had jobs. You know what I miss most?" She turned in the seat to look at me. "What?" I was kind of scared to know her answer. "You. When we don't get to talk."

It was silent after that because she fell asleep. Her head rolled over to rest against the part of the car where the seatbelt comes from. I guess she wasn't fully asleep because her hand reached over and grabbed mine off the steering wheel. And she laced our fingers together; resting our hands on the middle armrest.

I could hear the blood rushing to my face as I blushed really hard. I can't believe she's holding my hand right now. My stomach was doing cartwheels against my internal organs. Oh geeze now I'm a distracted driver. I felt her squeeze my fingers tighter as she drifted fully into sleep.

I wonder how Daryl feels about how clos we're getting. I hope he doesn't kick my ass for touching his baby sister. The last thing we need is another fight with a Dixon brother.


	8. Chapter 8

My luck just completely went to hell in a hand basket. As if Glenn's new Camaro breaking down on the side of the road wasn't bad enough; now there are the undead surrounding the car. Damn it and when I was sleeping so peacefully.

I noticed we were on the line of the forest and there were nearly no Walkers on the driver's side of the car. And a totally insane and crazy idea occurred to me. "Glenn. When I tell you to, we are going to make a run for the trees." He just stared at me like I had lost my marbles or something like that.

"Do you want to get out of here alive?" He just nodded. "Do you trust me?" And again just a silent nod. I mean I've saved him before so he has every reason TO trust me. I unlocked the doors and moved as close to Glenn as I could. "Go!" And he pushed the door open.

None of the Stiffs seemed to notice either, guess they are blind or something. I instantly grabbed Glenn's hand again and we ran into the trees. I stopped us and looked back at the road.

Thank God we grabbed our shit and wouldn't have to back for it. I saw the whole caravan ahead of us on the road, the Walkers making their way to them.

We had lagged behind when the car started smoking because Glenn pushed it too hard past its limits. I spotted the closest vehicle to us was Daryl's truck. "Okay, we are going to run to Daryl's truck. Climb in the window and we're Scott free." He just continued to nod. What? Had he gone mute on me?

I yanked him along behind me and Daryl saw us coming. He slid the window open as we jumped in the back. Glenn got in and helped me in. But the bandage on my arm got caught on the latch for the window. And it pulled the bandage off in return pulling at the still tender stitches.

"Fuck!" I held my arm against my chest and Daryl looked at me wide eyed as we took off. We easily lost the hoard, and I was losing blood. "Shit, I think it opened again." And Glenn wrapped my arm in a piece of shirt he ripped from my sleeve.

"Dale will have to take another look at it the next time we stop." Daryl looked at me like he was terrified and glued his eyes to the road. The pulsing in my forearm is overwhelming me again. My head felt heavy and was pounding. My stomach hurt so bad I thought I might implode.

**Glenn's POV**

"She passed out!" I announced to Daryl and he stared down at her. "What do I do?" I asked when her head landed in my lap. "She's fuckin' burnin' up." Daryl hit the steering wheel when he pulled his hand away from her forehead.

"Dude she is pouring sweat." I dabbed at her clammy face with the hem of my shirt. "How bad is it?" Daryl asked pointing to the bloody arm. I reluctantly pulled away the piece of shirt and peeled back the bandage. "Oh it's terrible!" I covered it back up.

The stitches were stuck to the soaked gauze and when it ripped, it opened the wound. No wonder she passed out probably from pain. She was surprisingly still as she just laid on the bloody car seat.

When we pulled off at yet another rest stop, Daryl pulled her from the cab. He ran with her bridal style to the others. "Dale!" He laid her on Carol's car again and banged on the RV's door. "Wha-" but Dale stopped at the sight of a bloody Chrissy.

"Did she get bitten?" Rick said running his hands through his hair. "No, her wound opened again." Dale said removing the shirt again. "Damn it!" Daryl kicked the side of a nearby trashcan. The can clattered to the ground and he just kept kicking it. Chrissy was sickly pale and getting worse.

"It's not infected at least. I can't see anything but blood." Dale sighed and asked Shane to pick her up. We carried her to a picnic table and Lori sat out the medical supplies. Seems like most of our medical items are being used on C-J nowadays.

I sat on the bench with the pissed Daryl. I'm not sure what he is exactly mad at but at least it's not me. Dale cut the bandage off her arm, and when he pulled it off some of the stitches came off with it. The sudden tearing of skin woke her up, and she yelled out in pain. Carol quickly cupped her mouth to prevent her from attracting nearby Walkers.

Daryl held her mid-section down and I had my arm across her chest and holding her good arm down. She was thrashing around with fresh tears streaking her twisted face. "Stop! It hurts! Please," but Dale just kept patching her up. Lori tried to pour water into her mouth but she spit it back out. So Lori gave up trying.

She had passed out again as alcohol was poured over the newly stitched gash. Daryl carried her into the RV to lie her down on an actual bed. "She'll be okay. Right?" He asked Dale as he sat beside the bed. "I don't know." Dale looked absolutely defeated. But he did all he could for her. It's not like we can just take her to a hospital or something.

Daryl put his head down on the edge of the bed. I could hear him crying but again decided against mentioning it. He had every right to cry; just like the rest of us. I didn't want Chrissy to die as much as Daryl. I knew I just wanted her to live because I was falling for her. But Daryl needed her to live for him to get through this messed up ordeal.

I sat next to Dale at the table. Daryl's voice caught me off guard because of its subtlety. "Chrissy you have to be okay." He still hadn't lifted his head from the bed. 'I can't lose you again. The first time you got ripped away from me was torture. And with Merle being gone," there was a long pause. I played with the curtains to distract myself while I listened.

"I should of never let you drive that night. Then you would of never gotten hurt. I shouldn't have let you ride with Glenn." I appreciated that he called me by my name for once. "I am your brother. I'm supposed to protect you. But I can't even do that for ya." He looked up finally and wiped his face.

"I'm a terrible brother. And mom would be ashamed of me. But I'm sure dad would be proud of you now." He moved her body to be against the siding. And he lay next to her.

"Please wake up soon. I need you." And Daryl fell silent. I started crying at the beautiful family moment. And for the first time Daryl had opened up a little. Dale just moved to the driver's seat and we all took off after everyone had a bathroom break. "She'll be okay, kid." Dale said but it didn't make me feel any better.

I remember when my mother use to hold me like Daryl was holding his sister. I hung my head to allow the hat to block view of my face. It'd been a while since I had a good cry and now I couldn't stop. I contained the sobs building in my throat.

Everyday felt like a constant Hell and we're all trapped in the flames for some reason. We've survived for this long so we couldn't just give up. We had just gotten into the motion of the days and it was too early to stop now. But sometimes I regret ever leaving Atlanta. I have a lot of regrets but dying will not be one of them.

The tears kept pouring out as I thought about every face from the group that wasn't with us right now. I wonder if Morales made it to Birmingham. Maybe we'll meet up with him in the safety of Mississippi. Poor Jacqui who chose an easier way to _'opt out'_. Not to mention all the Walkers we've killed.

They were all people at some point in time. They had jobs, families, and went to school. They didn't always look like that and some of them were probably really nice looking. I think I would make a handsome zombie, if I ever get attacked. As long as they don't rip apart my face.

I laid my head on the table facing out the window. Closing my eyes I tried to forget about all the blood I've touched today. The thought of C-J crying in pain stung my eyes with fresh tears.

I really hope she gets better. We all need and want her with us. Without her we would probably be lost. She helped us in so many ways and not to mention she was a valuable gun slinger.


	9. Chapter 9

My arm feels so good I think Dale performed a miracle. Sure it had stitches but it wasn't even sore anymore. I could even use my arm again which made everything so much easier.

We were walking down a street; heading towards a small mall. This time there was no splitting up into teams, except Dale and the kids stayed in with the vehicles. I was in front with Daryl and Rick. Shane and Rick were taking up the back end of the group.

I looked around and noted that it seemed too quiet for some reason. Against my gut feeling we ran to the doors. Rick smashed them in and we walked through them. I was extra careful this time to not hurt my arm again.

Onc einside we stayed together for the most part. Lori and Carol ventured off to a foos stall. The rest of us went into seperate stores but still something didn't feel right. Why was there no zombies here? I have never seen a building of this size just be deserted. I didn't let it bother me as I walked into a clothing store.

"I'm sorry about before." Shane nearly scared the shit right out of me. I didn't even know he came in here with me because we weren't exactly on good terms. "It''s okay. We're all a little snappy." I let my shotgun swing from my shoulder as I ran my hand over all the pretty outfits. I could never afford anything like this.

I picked up a shirt that resembles a dress in style, some shorts and boots. Having at least new clothes felt so great against my skin. I joined Shane back by the entrance to the store. I saw Lori and Carol come back carrying food and stuff. "I only have two rounds." Shane admitted seemingly defeated.

In that instance I saw my chance to get on Shane's possible good side. "I promise to have your back in case you ever need to use those two rounds." I held out my hand and he shook it with a smile. "Thank you." He tipped his hat to me and I just had to laugh.

"Did you hear that?" I pointed my gun towards the other end of the mall. There was a crashing noise and I know no one went that far off from us. "Yeah. Wanna go check it out?" I just eagerly followed Shane through the dim lights. "If something happens to me, I need you to run. Run all the way back to the cars and keep moving forward." Did Shane have some sort of death wish or something?

"I will try." When in reality I don't know if I could just leave him there to get ripped apart. In an instant Shane had me pushed against the wall, his breath hitting my face. He signaled for me to be quiet and he pulled me into another open store.

We hid behind the checkout counter and I didn't hear anything follow us in. I peeked around to see a couple Walkers walking towards the others. "Shit. They don't even know what's coming!" I said and stood when they were all past the store. "We have to get back to them." That's the smartest thing I've heard Shane say since I met him.

We went the opposite way to avoid running through the hungry zombies. We were sprinting as if we were being chased ourselves. We skidded to a stop when we saw the others run from the mall. Did they just leave us in here alone to die? No way was I going to just stay here. Shane grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the doors. One of the stragglers spotted us and the others turned to us. They had drool pouring from their mouths and they were horribly mangled. When we stumbled backwards Shane fell and cried out.

"My foot! Take my gun! Go!" He handed me his pistol with shaking hands. "Go! I can't walk! Remember your promise." His eyes said he was fearful of dying but his actions told me to leave him. "Shane! I-" but he pushed my leg and yelled for me to run while he distracted them.

I ran around the tables and heard screaming. I stopped once I reached the doors and looked back at Shane. "Chrissy," his hand was outstretched in my direction but it got ripped apart by a set of yellowing teeth. I vomited in my mouth and walked out the doors.

I didn't bother running because the zombies were too pre-occupied with my friend. I can't believe that just went down like that. I stumbled back to the caravan and collapsed in front of the RV. I threw my gun off to the side somewhere and vomited. I vomited because that's the first time I ever witnessed someone getting eaten, that close up. And it was terrible.

"Where's Shane?" Rick asked from somewhere in front of me. I held up Shane's gun and he took it from my hands. I had nothing to say to anybody because what can I say at a time like this? We had just lost a group member and one that was important to us. Daryl knelt in front of me and I grabbed onto his shirt.

He picked me up in his arms and I fell limp. I had swore that I would have his back but he told me to leave him. I could have saved him or better yet it should have been me. He leaned against the truck and I nuzzled into his neck.

Everything I tried to do to make sure everyone was safe had gone down with Shane. The look on his face when he handed me his gun and the sound of ripping flesh was all I could see and hear. It just made it ten times worse to concentrate. I pushed Daryl away and vomited into the grass again.

It was so disgusting how those things just swoop in and tear into the living. The sound of cracking bone and chomping made me dry heave at least two more times. Daryl and Carol helped me to the truck and I sat against the window. Glenn was in the middle of me and Daryl and we slowly started down the road.

**Glenn's POV**

Tears were pourin down C-J's face but it's understandable. I wonder if she shot Shane or not if he got attacked. She didn't have blood on her and she was wearing new clothes. It was total silence in the truck as none of us wanted to talk about what happened back there.

If only we didn't just take off without bothering to make sure Shane and Chrissy were with us. Maybe we could have saved him from turning into Walker food. Chrissy was shaking against me and hugged herself tightly. I tried to put my arm around her shoulder but she flinched away. So I just let it be.

At least four hours later we stopped again for the night. At this rate it was going to take forever to get just to the Alabama state line. I was sitting with the others around the small fire we built on the side of the road. Everyone was talking or even laughing but C-J was just sitting there. Not saying anything and just staring off into space.

"Hey, you need to eat." Daryl held up a spoonful of canned potatoes to her mouth but she moved away from it. He gave up and stuck it into his own mouth instead. "Did Shane say anything?" Rick couldn't look Chrissy in the eyes and I felt it made it worse on her. She just shrugged and walked away from the group.

No one followed but I know she was unarmed. I grabbed my trusty bat and headed after her; and no one said a word about it. I found her sitting against the tire of the RV. Fresh tears were running into her mouth when I sat next to her. "You don't have to talk to me." I offered but she didn't even smile.

"I know it probably wasn't easy on you. Did Shane ask for your help at least?" She just shook her head no. "Did he tell you to run away? Because that's just Shane's personality flaw." He always told us to just leave him if he goes down. She nodded a quick yes so I continued the questioning. "Was he trying to protect you?" She shrugged and hung her head.

"Did you shoot him? Or is he one of them now?" The thought made me get goosebumps. She nodded no and I didn't bother asking which question she was answering. "Why are you being so quiet?" She didn't move at all and I knew I asked the wrong question. "You look nice in this." I played with the sleeve of her new shirt but she didn't even look up at me.

"I remember the time our camp got attacked. We lost more than our share of friends and family members. Carol lost her husband and Sophia lost her dad. But he was a douchebag anyways. And Andrea lost her sister Amy." I was really starting to miss everyone that isn't with us.

"We found the CDC and thought they could help us. Turns out there no cure for it and the world's just given up or something. Dr. Jenner said we could stay with him when the building blows up because of no power. But we all wanted to live for as long as possible. Jacqui chose to stay and go peacefully." If you call blowing up in a matter of seconds… peaceful.

"Mississippi is our last hope." And she finally looked up at me. "Living is pointless now. There's no need to keep going through all of this. Just leave me alone." Her voice cracked a couple of times as her words set into my mind. "You have Daryl to live for. Imagine how he would feel if you weren't here." I put my arm around her but she pushed me away.

"He was fine before he found me. He'll be fine when I die." She spat and stood and stared back at the campfire. "Don't you understand anything? I don't know what I'm here for. All I do is get people hurt and I can't even save myself half the time. I can't take it anymore." She ran off into the woods.

"Daryl!" And everyone came running over to me. "Chrissy ran off into the words. I think she wants to die." Andrea got a look of understanding because she's been there before. We all got flashlights and guns and took off after her. Even Dale came with us this time. He seemed to really care for her like her cared for Andrea and Amy.

"Chrissy!" Daryl yelled out and had tears in his eyes. I've never seen him cry so much not even over Merle. "Please you can't leave me!" Daryl screamed and took off running. I think he found her trail but it just stopped. "Where could she have gone?" Rick asked.

"Okay we need to split up. I'll take Glenn and Dale. Meet back at the road in an hour." Everyone agreed with Daryl's suggestion.

It had to be the longest hour of my life. I had a strange sense of dיjא vu because it feels like just yesterday that we were looking for Sophia in the forest. A crunching noise came from somewhere behind us and we stopped mid-step.

Daryl whipped around and no one was there and nothing moved. After about a minute we headed back to the highway. I felt bad for driving her away with all my inquiring. "Help!" A scream ripped through the trees. With no hesitation we followed Daryl weaving through the think underbrush.

Chrissy was surrounded by what she liked to call Stiffs. Daryl started shooting of arrows and C-J hit the ground. I took off a couple heads easily and Dale's sniper rifle did enough damage. "What the fuck were you thinking?" Daryl was shaking her violently by the shoulders.

"I hate it! I hate my life and I'm tired of being here." Daryl picked her up over his shoulder and she didn't fight much to get away. We made it back to the highway and everyone was already there too.

Dale pulled Chrissy into the RV. Probably to have some talking time because she seemed comfortable with him.


	10. Chapter 10

"Sweetie, what were you thinking?" Dale sat me down on the RV's bed. "I wasn't thinking." I played with the ring on my finger, twirling it around in between my fingers. "I promised I'd keep this safe. But I can't even do that right." I hung my head and started crying.

"Look, I know what it's like to lose someone like that. I'm sure Shane wouldn't have had it any other way. Because if you died, he'd have to deal with Daryl." He was right though about my brother. I didn't even like it when he was angry. When he is angry he tends to shoot people in the face.

"He was a total wreck after Merle. He just found you, why would you want to leave him?" And his question hit home for me. "I don't want to leave my brother. But I'm having trouble believing that I deserve to live in this kind of world." He didn't say anything but just pulled me into a hug.

Out of the window I saw the campfire and everyone around it. I made eye contact with Glenn and couldn't look away. Dale looked where I was looking and gave me an all knowing smirk. "He really seems to like you." Dale pointed to Glenn and I broke eye contact with him. He looked away disappointedly.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you've never noticed the way he cares for you?" When in fact I could somewhat tell he liked me. "I've seen it. But we're in the middle of an apocalypse. I couldn't possibly," I was going to say _'get together with G__lenn'_. "What better time to fall in love?" And before I could respond Dale was pushing me out of the RV and towards the fire. He seated me next to Glenn and he sat on the other side of me.

"Thought you might be thirsty." Glenn handed me a small bottle of water, and our hands touched. I was so glad it was dark outside and no one could see my blush. I didn't know I was that thirsty until the bottle was empty. "Who wants to drink?" Daryl pulled out a bottle of Jack. He always seems to have an endless supply of alcohol.

"I want some!" I raised my hand and he handed it around the circle, until it got to me. After about an hour of drinking endless gulps of the warm, comforting liquid; it came to head that I got in a stupid argument. "I'm telling you that Stiffs don't like water. I've never seen a Walker cross the river." T-Dog swore, but I had my share of opinions.

"One chased me threw the river when I was luring them away from Sophia." Rick said, alcohol lacing his voice. "Thank goodness C-J came along and found her. Thank you for saving my daughter." Carol broke the argument with Sophia passed out on her lap. "Too bad you couldn't save Shane." And there goes T-Dog's big mouth.

The circle quickly got quiet, waiting for my response. I just pushed myself off the damp grass and stomped off towards an abandoned car. No one was bothering to follow me.

I had half a mind to go and just pop a cap in his face. But that might only anger the group or draw out more Walkers. I found a Stiff free SUV and climbed into the trunk area. With the click of the trunk door shutting, the tears activated in my eyes.

I realized I had no weapon with me but I felt save in here. Safer than just sitting around some stupid fire; waiting to get attacked. I've been trying so hard to like T-Dog because he's trying so hard to get along with me. If there was one thing that automatically bumped him up on my hate list; was him mentioning the Shane thing. It had quickly become taboo in the course of a day, to talk about what happened between me, Shane, and that group of Stiffs.

I pulled my knees to my chest and hid my face in my hands, resting on my knees. I am trying so terribly hard to handle the situation I have found myself in. The more I dwelled on it, the more I felt my stomach turn in discomfort. I wanted to throw up at the mere mention of that forbidden name.

I heard another door clicking open then gently shutting but didn't have to look up to know who it might be. "Hey." Glenn's voice, at any other time, would have been comforting. But as of this moment I didn't want to hear anything that anyone had to say. So with that we sat in silence for what felt like a drawn out eternity.

"If it counts for anything, he says he's sorry." And I finally looked up at him and caught a glimpse of the sad Glenn. I didn't like how his face distorted into either sympathy or apology, neither of which I wanted. "It doesn't count for shit!" I raised my voice and realized the spacious vehicle had great acoustics.

"Nothing counts for shit anymore!" I kept my knees to my chest, but rested my head on the side window. "What do you mean?" But I couldn't answer him without worrying him. I wanted to tell him that all our efforts, in a blink of an eye, every one of us could be dead. That it no longer mattered what we did; we always ran into trouble. That my feelings for him might count for nothing, if we both end up dying.

"Forget it." I snarled and looked towards him. He was sitting in the back seat with his arms over the back. He was just sitting there and staring at me, and I couldn't bring myself to look away. "Can I tell you something?" He finally asked and let out a long sigh of what sounded like relief, when I nodded for him to continue.

"What if it's something that could ruin our friendship?" I pondered the thought for a minute, but decided to muse at what he had to say. "Please just say it." And my heart beat against my ribcage with violence and nervousness. A cherry red tint crept across his face as he opened his mouth. He shut it again and opened it again, like he was thinking about something.

"I really like you!" He blurted and the red tint travelled to his ears and neck. I just chuckled out, "I know that already." He seemed shocked by laughter and it just made me laugh more. "I confess to you, and all you can say is 'I know'? For fuck's sake I just made a mistake!" He turned in the seat to face away from me.

I continued to laugh until I realized he was either mad or irritated with me. I straightened myself up and got on my knees. I leaned over the back of the seat and he just turned away from me again. I climbed over the seat and sat next to him, and grabbed his face to look at me.

Without thinking I pulled him into my arms and buried his lips under mine. I put my hand on the back of his neck to pull him closer to me and he didn't protest. I climbed into his lap and never broke contact. His hands tangled in my hair as his tongue slipped inside. After long minutes without air I had to pull away. "I like you too."

"Kind of figured that much." He was beet red and I could almost bet that I was too. "I'm really glad I found you." He rested our foreheads together and I closed my eyes. I wanted to stay forever like this and never have to face the outside terror we live.

There was a knock on the window and I couldn't help but let out an exhausted and very irate sigh. I opened the door to see T-Dog standing there and looking mighty uncomfortable. "I wanted to say sor-" but before he could say it I pushed him away from me and slid out of the truck. I kicked his legs out from under him and he hit the ground. I sat beside him and grabbed his collar.

"I don't care how sorry you are. If you so much as say hi to me again, I will not hesitate to kick your ass! If you ever think about even touching me again, I will stick this gun," I grabbed the pistol from his hip. "So far down your throat, you'll be shitting bullets until you die! Do you understand me?" He just nodded below me and I saw what looked like fear creep into his expression.

"I dropped the gun with a hard thud on his chest and got off the ground. I noted that the others were all here and gawking but I just grabbed Glenn's arm. I pulled him through the weaves of cars and to the RV. I yanked him inside and slammed the door shut. "I swear if I get my hands on him for more than two seconds," I slammed my hands down on the table.

"Come here." Glenn was sitting on the bed and I trudged towards him. He pulled me to sit in his lap once again, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I buried my face in his neck as tears trickled down my face again. I was crying because of anger and fear and an array of different emotions I never even knew existed.

Glenn just rocked with me and ran his hands up and down my back, in a comforting way. Every now and then he would 'shhh' me or tell me not to be too loud. My out cried were muffled by the fabric of his thin shirt and the jacket he loosely wore. Before I could even protest he laid me on the bed and curled in next to me. His arm going over me in an almost protective way.

"Go to sleep," he put his hand over my eyes and made them close. "I can tell you're exhausted." And he was right in every aspect. I reluctantly closed my eyes, partly because they burned, and fell right to sleep, even if it was short lived. The last thing I felt was Glenn kissing my cheeks.

**Glenn's POV**

What a rough night it was for not only the group but especially C-J. I looked down at our intertwined hands and noticed a ring on her finger. I've seen it before and knew it to belong to Dale's wife; Irma, I think her name was. He must have given it to her, and she looked good with it on.

T-Dog is so going to die soon. If not by a random Walker, by Chrissy's shotgun. "Glenn?" C-J stirred next to me and sat up next to me. "I made the right decision, right?" I just stared at her questioningly. "In coming along with you guys? I could have just stayed in the safety of the ranger cabin. Why did I leave?" And she laid right back down. "Because we needed you. Daryl needed you, if not more than Sophia. I needed you." I almost whispered the last part and she blushed yet again. "I need you Glenn. Probably more than you need me." And her words seemed to reign true for her.

She was silent after that and I was positive that she finally passed out. Dale appeared in the RV and just smiled down at us. Daryl sat at the table, and would occasionally glance back at me. To say it made me uncomfortable, the way he was looking at me, was an understatement.


	11. Chapter 11

Neither me nor Glenn talked about what happened between us that night. Whenever we were within two steps of eachother, we'd both turn beet red again. And I'm sure everyone already knows that we had a makeout seesion, in that SUV.

"Chrissy! Mommy!" I heard my name being yelled at the top of someone's lungs. I ran from my position behind one of the trucks on the road, towards the screaming. I would recognize those voices anywhere, Sophia and Carl.

I weaved through the cars, not worried about the Walkers rapidly approaching us on the highway. I even ignored the screams of protest as I ran past everyone. I came upon Sophia and Carl running to meet me. I noted a small group following them, limping their way at us. I grabbed them by the hands but could find nowhere to run. Those things were everywhere now.

I ran with them in tow to the forest, it seemed like the best plan right now. "Where are we going?" Carl asked, a lot more calmer than I would of suspected. I skidded to a stop by a lake I had seen when we were driving earlier. There was a small boathouse, and it appeared to also be abandoned.

Once inside I locked the door and looked out the windows. A couple of the more menacing monsters had followed us, and were right outside. I pushed the children to the farthest corner from the door, and pulled down some stacked boxes, to create a barrier in front of us. I could see the boat from here, but knew it'd be stupid to crank it up.

The only weapon I had was the pistol in my belt loop and the machete in its sheath. "Carl, do you know how to use this?" I handed him the medium sized knife and he just nodded. "If anything happens, get yourself and Sophia out of here. There's a trail back to the highway. Stay low and out of sight, as much as possible." They just nodded and held hands.

I moved back to peek out one of the windows and I guess a Stiff saw me. They started banging on the door, and I made the kids cover their mouths, because their screams could attract more. I pulled them towards the boat. As of right now, it's the best option for getting out of here. Last time I checked, Walkers can't swim well.

They hid behind the seats while I looked for the key. It was still in its place, and I cranked the boat up. The door broke down just as we were pulling out of the boathouse. Thank God for the invention of motors.

I didn't go too far from shore, and could see people moving through the trees. I shut the boat off, and now we were floating ducks out here. "Sophia, Carl. Come here." And they both crawled to my arms and I sat against the side. "How are we getting back to the others? I want my mom!" Sophia seemed to be taking this the hardest out of us three.

"I'll find a way. I promise," I knew I would get them back, without a scratch and not so much as a bruise. I would hold off the "_herd_" for as long as I could, just so they'd escape. Their just 12 years old and have a whole life ahead of them. I would make sure that life was worth it and long lasting.

"C-J!" I heard Daryl screaming from the shore and I stood up. The rag-tag group had demolished the Walkers that were trying to eat our faces off. I started the boat, with the kids clinging to my legs for dear life.

"Oh thank God!" Lori and Carol embraced their children while I caught my breath. Daryl swamped me with a suffocating hug but I didn't complain. "Good thinking. Usin' the boat." Daryl breathed into my hair, and I just relaxed into his arms. "It was my only choice. And I had to make it to save them." I pointed to the now smiley Sophia and Carl.

"What about saving yourself?" Rick asked and Daryl let me go to explain. "I'm not that important. But they," I hooked my hand with Carl's and Sophia's. "Have an opportunity, we never had. To live a full and happy life, even if it's during the Apocalypse." I teared up at the thought of any of them losing their lives.

"Let's get back. The horde passed already." We followed Rick back to the road. I road in the back of the truck with Glenn, as Daryl and Rick discussed more stuff in the front seat. The ever pleasant silence hanging between me and Glenn, was becoming almost suffocatingly too much.

But words could not possibly convey what I'm feeling right now. Instead of trying to talk to him, I just grabbed his hand. I moved to be lying in his lap, our hands still intertwined together. "I'm glad you're okay." Glenn finally spoke, and I was glad to hear his voice. "I'm fine. But are we okay?" The question had been bothering for some time now.

"What do you mean?" But I couldn't explain it to him. It was getting dark, but we weren't stopping tonight. There was a certain chill in the air, which sent goosebumps up my arms and legs. Glenn pulled a sleeping bag over to us, and lay down with me. His arm slung over me, like it would protect me from getting bitten or injured.

"I meant, we haven't really talked since the kiss. And I'm worried that it made things weird for us." I admitted and snuggled into his arms, letting his warmth overtake me again. "It's not weird; it's just that I don't know what to say. I don't even know what we are anymore." His breath hit my forehead in puffs.

"That was pretty brave. Running after Sophia and Carl like that." He had giddiness to his voice that was amusing to hear. "Sophia, I swear, just attracts the undead. And they're the most important part of our group, and I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to them." I closed my long since tired eyes.

"I guess any of us would of done the same. Wait, me and Daryl aren't important to the group?" I guess he took my statement the wrong way. "Daryl is most important to me. Then comes you and Sophia. You guys are the only reason, I'm still here." I felt his arms tighten around me, by a lot.

"Before I ever found Sophia, I wanted to die. I saw absolutely no reason to keep going, and no one to care if I did die. I thought about putting the gun in my mouth and swallowing bullets. But then I heard Sophia and I knew someone needed me in this life. Then you and then Daryl came along and everything changed. I still think that it'd be easier to just wither away into nothing. That way I won't have to worry about Walkers or dying or getting the fever." I started crying at the mention of wanting to shoot myself.

"I understand you so much more now." Glenn said and the matter was dropped. I could hear Rick talking to Daryl about Mississippi and of course, me. Some of the conversation was about me and Glenn, but its better if Glenn doesn't hear any of it. Things are already good why do we need gossip to ruin it for us?

The night passed with no attacks and restful sleep. And I noticed, for the first time since I met him that Glenn snores.

(Break)

Gunfire filled the space between me and everyone else. It was just another day, stopping in some small town, for gas or supplies. I was backed into the corner with only the pistol, that Rick gave back to me. "Chrissy, you okay?" Daryl asked from on top of one of the shelves, stocked with barely anything. How he even got up there completely confused me. "I'm fine."

When it was clear and safe to walk around we quickly gathered the things we deemed necessary. I threw some untouched energy drinks and bars into my bag. They might come in handy if we ever need a quick boost. "Come here." Glenn pulled me towards the restrooms. And locked the door of the men's room.

He sat his flashlight down at the sink, facing the mirror, so it illuminated the whole room. He pushed me against the wall and kissed me. It was deeper than our other wimpy pecks, which were usually on the cheek. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, bringing him closer to me. "You have no idea how sexy it was just now. To watch you kill those Walkers." He kissed down my jaw and stopped at the hollow of my neck.

Not that I wasn't enjoying this gesture of affection but now's not the time. "Glenn," I got his attention and pushed him off of me. "Not here, not now." I unlocked the door and took off with his flashlight. He chased me all the way back to the RV. Where we took inventory of all we got.

We distributed some of the apples and other fruit that Dale managed to collect. I'm not much of a fruit eater but this was amazing on my relatively empty stomach. "I can't eat another peach. My stomach hurts." T-Dog laughed and held his stomach, and I smirked. I realized in that moment that even if I don't like him, we need each other.

"I'm going to go use the restroom." I said and Andrea, Carol, Sophia and Lori followed me back into the store. The female restroom had stalls, unlike the men's. I felt myself blushing at the thought of Glenn against me on the wall.

On our way out of the store, I heard a noise from the back storage area. "Go on ahead, I think I dropped something." I made an excuse and they just left the store. I walked along the wall, expecting more Stiffs to appear out of thin air almost.

There was a man, stooped over by the doorway. I noticed he had only one hand. "Excuse me?" I asked not knowing if he was an infected or not. When he looked up at me, my world crumpled, like paper being thrown away and forgotten.

It was all teeth and blood coming after me. The memory of the man coming at me became tinted with gore and filth. "Merle?" I asked, and he just stumbled towards me. That when I saw the chunk taken from his neck, and drool pooling from his mouth. "Oh no!" I started to panic. Why wasn't he running after me? Did he recognize me?

As he lunged at me, I couldn't think before I acted. And shot him in the forehead. He went down without a single grunt or movement. "What was that gunshot?" I heard Andrea yell from the entrance to the store. I just knelt beside the brother I had just shot in the face.

I noticed he was wearing the necklace I bought him, when I was only ten years old. "Chrissy! Wha-" Daryl dropped to his knees next to me. "He was attacking me. And I didn't know what to do, and I didn't want to hurt him! I swear he was infected!" I collapsed into the closest person's arms, which were Glenn's at this point.

When I came to I was sitting in the back of Dale's RV. "Daryl?" I asked looking around for him. He came from the front of the vehicle, his eyes puffy and red. He lay down next to me, and hugged me. I broke down again and sobbed audibly into his chest. "At least," Daryl's voice was cut off by a sharp intake of air.

"At least we know what happened to him. He must have gotten this far and got bitten. It's not your fault." He rubbed the small of my back, but it wasn't comforting in any sort of way. We didn't move and were silent, listening to the sounds of the RV. And the other cars in the small convoy.

"Chrissy? Daryl, can I talk to her?" Where Glenn came from I don't know, but Daryl left again. I sat up and Glenn pulled me to sit on his lap, yet again. I wanted comfort and security and him to kiss me. I leaned forward and pressed our lips together.

I pushed him back against the window, out of the view of anyone else. I didn't give him time to talk and ruin it all, and just kept our mouths locked. I stared into his closed eyes with so much want and need that it scared me. His hands roamed around my back, like he didn't know what to do with them.

"I love you." He whispered when for a split second we parted for needed air. I just pushed our bodies together and shut him up. I would like to tell him _'__I love you too'_ but the words wouldn't form on my tongue.

When the rather intense making out was done, he went back up front and I followed him. I took the passenger seat next to Dale and he just smiled at me. "I told you, you could protect the ring. And yourself, whether you believe it or not." He said not taking his eyes off the road. And the only thought that occurred to me was….

This whole time, who's been driving Daryl's truck around?


	12. Chapter 12

"Shut. the. fuck. up! You cocksuckin' nigger!" Daryl yelled at T-Dog, who looked fearful of him. T-Dog, I swear, has gone insane. He's been going on about Merle and how he deserved it and how better off the world was without him, shit that was even annoying me.

Before my brother got into a fight I stepped in between them. "Guys! Now is not the time for this." I calmly pushed Daryl backwards towards the nearest car. "Daryl? What was that?" I gestured back to T-Dog and the group. "No one talks about Merle like that. Even if he is somewhat right," Daryl trailed off not wanting to say anything else on the topic.

He stormed off to his truck and I let him go and sulk. "What am I going to do with him?" I asked and pulled at my hair. "Well you could beat T-Dog's ass. Just get it over with already. I know you want too." Glenn wrapped his arms around me from behind, scaring me to death.

"What would that solve? Merle is dead, can't we just move on. It's already hard enough without everyone talking about it 24/7!" I pushed him away from me and walked towards the RV. I didn't mean to snap at him, he was only trying to help the situation. I hope he understands that it is not him that I am angry with. It's myself.

I climbed the ladder onto the roof and took a seat next to Dale. "Dale, do you think it's possible to hate yourself?" He just lowered his binoculars and stared at me, I guess waiting for me to continue. "I hate myself for killing my brother!" I mumbled and hoped I wouldn't have to repeat myself.

"Don't hate yourself. If you didn't shoot him, you'd be dead or worse, one of them. And that would be terrible on everyone." He always seemed so optimistic about the world ending. "So, you and Glenn. How are things going?" I just sighed and closed my eyes.

"It's going good, I think." And there was a pause in the small talk. "Tell me what you like about him. I bet there's a lot, Glenn is a great kid." Dale said, and I relaxed more. "Where to even start?" I tapped my finger on my chin trying to make a list.

"He is really nice and considerate. He always tries to please others especially me; which I appreciate deeply. I know he always has my back and that I can trust him. I know he won't hurt me or run away from me, like so many people have. I love that he makes me smile when I am pissed off. And I like how he snores, if that makes me weird."

"I do not snore!" I snapped my eyes open to see Glenn sitting next to me, instead of Dale. Was he trying to play match maker or something? "Yes you do. And when did you get here?" He didn't answer and just took my hand. "I guess I'm pretty great, huh?" He was so full of himself, but not in a bad way. I just rested on his shoulder.

"It's a beautiful day!" I stretched my free hand above my head and shielded my face from the sun. "It is, and so are you." My heart actually skipped a beat at the cliché. "Cheesy much?" I laughed along with him. "I have my moments. Anyways, thank you for all the compliments." I just blushed even harder.

Out in the distance I swore I saw movement. I squinted my eyes and saw the faint outline of bodies running down the road. "Shit!" I pulled Glenn down the ladder and ran to find Rick. "Walkers!" I yelled and everyone looked around panicky, and ducked under or in cars. I pushed Glenn onto the ground and rolled under a semi-truck. It felt like forever but I finally saw feet start passing by us.

From my position I could see in front of the truck. I saw a couple little kids dragging their feet on the pavement. The ever growing moaning and skin falling off made me sick to my stomach. I dry heaved and looked over at Glenn. His eyes were shut and he was trembling. Even I haven't gotten use to the herds we kept encountering. The road was turning out to be a bad idea after all.

Glenn started crying and opened his mouth I guessed to sob. I clamped my hand over his mouth and pulled him closer to me. I made his face press against my chest and stopped him from opening his eyes. I too shut my eyes and gripped onto the handle of the machete on Glenn's waist.

After another eternity, it was quiet again. I kept Glenn's and my body pressed together. "You can let me go now." He mumbled into my shoulder. "What If I don't want to?" I chuckled but let him go anyways. He helped me out from under the truck and we met back up with everyone else. The whole group had made it through without incident.

"You have good eyesight." Dale patted my hair and messed up my hair. "Better than you old man." I teased and took his binoculars. "Give those back!" Dale tried to grab them but I ran off towards Daryl's truck. I loved messing with him, because I miss messing with my father.

**Glenn's POV**

Dale took off after Chrissy and his binoculars. Her laugh trailed off into low chuckles as I could see Dale tickling her sides. It seems that Dale has grown away from Andrea and has moved on to Chrissy. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"We need to talk." Daryl pulled me by my elbow away from the group. "What do you want from my sister?" He pushed me against the railing. "I don't want anything. Maybe companionship and," I was going to say _'__romance'_ but that might not be smart right now. "If I so much as hear that you're trying to have sex with her," He kicked the railing beside me. "I will murder you." Just then Chrissy was there.

"Daryl do you really think I'm that kind of girl?" She smiled and hugged her brother. "Of course not. But I barely know this kid, be careful." And with that he stormed off leaving her empty armed. She pouted and stared at her feet, her arms still outstretched towards Daryl's disappearing figure. I stepped in front of her and hugged her instead.

She just sighed in what I thought was contentment. "Don't worry about Daryl. I'm a grown girl I can have sex with whoever I want." She laughed at my stiffening expression. "I was joking. Relax I'm not ready for anything like that. Not yet." She winked and sauntered away from me again.

I would so, given the time of day, tap that. I mean it's the end of the fuckin' world; we deserve some good times together. Heck if it continues on like this, we might even have to repopulate our groups dwindling numbers. But maybe that's just my hormones talking instead of reason. But what does that matter?


	13. Chapter 13

I knew it was probably a bad decision, but I diverted from the group. I had told Rick to tell the others that I'll meet them back at camp, and I always keep my word.

I had my shotgun in my arms ready to fire at a moment's notice. It was like a ghost town when I entered the small city. There were very few cars on the roads and hardly any bodies, which I found quite odd.

It was so much easier not having to watch out for someone else. Sometimes I craved times like this, because like all the other Dixons, I'm a bit of a loner type at times. "Hey you!" Someone practically yelled and I crouched behind the nearest truck.

"You with the gun! Come here." I looked up the roads a ways and saw a woman standing at the mouth of an alley. "Well are you comin' or not?" She waved me over and against my better judgment, I walked over to her.

I followed her through the alleys and back roads until we stopped in front of an old garage. Once inside I scouted out two other survivors; one a man and one a small child. The kid couldn't have been more than 5 and no younger than 3, maybe around 4 years old.

"Is he bitten?" I noticed the man had a bloodied bandage on his neck. "Yes. That's why we need you." The woman looked sick too, but the child looked fine. "I've been bitten too." She appeared to be calmer than you'd expect.

"I'm Chrissy. What are your names?" I asked but she didn't shake my hand. "No time for names. Why do you need the names of someone, you're about to kill?" I just dazed at her in utter confusion. "I'm asking you to shoot us. Please?" She pointed to the shotgun cradled in my arms.

"I couldn't," I backed up towards the door. "Your child. Is he okay?" She just smiled down at what I assumed to be her husband and child. "His name is Aiden. He's only 4 and he can't be on his own. He hasn't been touched by them." I assume she's referring to Stiffs.

"Mark, give Aiden to Chrissy." The man stood with the kid and reluctantly handed him to me. "Now, please kill us. It's the least we are asking for. Please, we don't have much longer. And I don't wanna be one of them." The unnamed family looked like they'd been through hell and back.

"Okay." I pushed Aiden's head to rest on my shoulder, looking away from his parents. "Who first?" I asked as if they were waiting in line at McDonald's or something. "Me." The man said, "Or if at the same time." The woman embraced her husband.

I had become hardened by the apocalypse, but I wasn't heartless. The scene before me made my eyes water and my heart break all over again. Not wasting time, as they were close to changing, I shot the man in the forehead. Shortly followed by the woman, and they fell to the floor still embracing one another.

Aiden started crying and yelling, and I bounced him in my arms. "Hey Aiden, look at me." I put the shotgun back on my back and cradled Aiden instead. "It'll be okay. Can you talk?" He just shook his head and seemed to still be in shock.

(Break)

I took the same alley ways back to where I had been in the first place. I still wanted to collect supplies so I headed for the nearest store. Outside I found a cart, and placed Aiden in the seat. He just smiled and death gripped my hand.

"So Aiden, that's a pretty name." I was trying to distract him from what had just happened. "Mommy and daddy?" His little weak voice scared me momentarily. "Where is they?" He looked around but what do I tell him? "Their gone. But Auntie Chrissy is here now." I squeezed his tiny fingers back in reassurance.

"No Auntie Chrissy!" He suddenly yelled and I didn't get what he was getting at. "Mama Chrissy?" I just stupidly nodded because who am I to bust his little bubble. As I pushed the messed up cart down the abandoned aisles, Aiden started reaching out for stuff.

We were in a baby section of the store, and it appeared untouched. I guess people were more worried about food and safety, then baby stuff. "Are you potty trained?" I asked showing him some diapers. "No diapers! Aiden is big boy?" I just rustled his hair a little, "Yes, Aiden is a big boy." His smile about near killed me again.

I took note of his eyes and his hair finally. He was a couple shades darker than my pasty white skin, and his eyes were green. His hair fell in tiny curls on his head and around his face. He looked almost like a porcelain doll you'd by off the internet or something.

I put a couple toys in the cart, along with what I considered cute clothes. I put shoes on his bare feet and he swung his legs back and forth. "They nice." He played with the toy I had handed him. It amused me how children were amused by anything and everything nowadays.

I put some cans of sausages and canned beef in the cart. "Aiden's hungry." He said and grabbed at a box of cereal on a nearly empty shelf. I picked it up and examined it, and it seemed okay to eat. I opened the box and sat it in his lap. He reached his little arms in and pulled out handfuls of cereal and stuffed his cheeks.

"Want some?" He held up a handful to me and I ate them graciously. "Anything else you think we need?" I decided to ask, not expecting an actual answer. "That?" He pointed by my feet to a bottle of soda. Should I give a child soda? "How about some water instead?" He just nodded.

I handed him a bottle of water and decided to take the Coke along too. I'm sure those back at the camp will thank for it later. Speaking of them, I wonder how worried they might be. And how they'd feel about bringing home a kid.

Aiden was cuter than words could even begin to express. "Mama Chrissy have friends?" He asked when I pushed the cart outside. "Yes and a brother. Are you an only child?" He just shook his head no and started crying. I didn't push the questioning of a sibling any further. "I'm sorry for asking. Don't cry." I wiped the tears from his eyes. "Aiden is tired." He yawned on cue. "And cold." It was chilling off outside, even though it wasn't even close to noon yet.

I stopped pushing the cart and removed Aiden from the cart. I moved the stuff around, piling some of the smaller items in the front of the cart. And laid out the clothes I had gotten for him, and put Aiden back in the cart. He curled into a ball and I put my jacket over him.

He was passed out and I pulled the cart by the backend through the streets. It was nice and peaceful and it felt great not having to worry for the time being. Our camp wasn't maybe a mile away, so we'd make it way before the moon even thinks about coming out.

The trek was surprisingly easy to maneuver with the cart. Every so often we'd hit a bump and Aiden would bounce in the cart. When I looked at Aiden I saw a tinier version of myself. Seemingly alone, cold, young and trapped in this endless nightmare.

I hit a bigger rock and Aiden woke up crying. "Shh!" I grabbed him and rested him on my hip. I pulled the cart now with one hand and kept a very tight grip on Aiden. He went right back to sleep, as the smell of exhaust came into my nose. It was most likely from the RV; the thing blows more smoke than anything else.

I sighed when I saw the moving people and the comforting motorcycle in the back of Daryl's truck. I guess I was louder than expected, as the cart clattered along the dirt path to the camp site. "Chrissy!" Dale said from on top of the RV, and everyone came running towards me.

"Be quiet!" I snapped making sure not to wake up Aiden. "Who is this?" Lori said and everyone stared at my arms. "This is Aiden. I got some supplies; just leave me the baby stuff." I gestured to the cart that Rick and T-Dog started going through.

"I'm gonna ask the obvious question," Carol said smiling at the bundle in my arms. "You go off on your own and bring back a child?" Aiden stirred but didn't wake up. "His parents got bit. They asked me to take care of him, and I intend to do just that." I bounced Aiden again and he was smiling in his sleep.

"What happened to the parents?" Andrea asked. "I shot them. And now I have a kid." She just smiled too. I headed towards the RV with Glenn and Daryl following me. Glenn carrying most of the stuff for Aiden in his arms. Which I appreciated him for greatly.

"A child, Chrissy? We can barely take care of ourselves!" Daryl reacted exactly like I thought he would. "We are not taking care of him. I am, and you can deal with it." He still looked pretty pissed off at me. "It wasn't an option to just leave him. He's only 4, and that would be murder. You have to understand," and his face softened a little.

Glenn piled the stuff in the corner of the RV's bedroom. I walked past them and outside, Aiden still clung to me. I pulled the jacket back over him and headed towards the ladder for the RV. "Dale, come here." He peeked over at me. And joined me on the floor.

"This is Aiden. Is it okay if I use the bed in the RV for a while?" He stroked Aiden's soft hair. "You don't even have to ask." Just then Rick came over and asked me to join the group by the fire pit they built.

They handed out pieces of venison; I'm guessing Daryl had previously caught. "Aiden, wake up. It's time to eat." I shook him to life and he rubbed his eyes open. "What is that?" I held the strip of deer up to his mouth. "It's good, I promise." And he took a bite of it. "It's good." He turned in my lap.

After everyone introduced themselves, I went about playing with Aiden. We had an intense game of tag going on. I noticed the whole camp watching me from their various locations.

**Glenn's POV**

This is the happiest I can remember ever seeing Chrissy. Aiden was just a little cutie who seemed like a good kid. His hair bounced around in curls and it reminded me off a cabbage patch doll I saw once. The women in the camp were all smiles while watching them run around playing tag.

Aiden tripped and fell onto the ground. He started crying and Chrissy picked him up immediately. She sat him on a picnic table and rubbed his knee, whispering something to him. I decided to go over to them and talk to Chrissy some more.

"Hey Glenn." She smiled and told me to sit next to her. Aiden was playing with what looked like toy gun, shooting it at the ground. "Mama Chrissy! Look," she held out her hands and he handed her a rock that was oddly colored. "Keep it!" And he went back to playing. She shoved it into her jeans pocket.

"He's cute." I said feeling some sense of sudden responsibility. "I made a promise to protect him. I hope I can do that. You should have seen the mom," She stopped as tears started rolling down her face. "Oh no! Don't cry!" Aiden climbed onto the bench and put his hands on her cheeks.

"I think you'll make a great mother. You're already great with kids and I can tell you care for him already." I said patting her back. "I hope so. Let's go." She stood and ushered Aiden over to her. He wrapped his arms around her thigh as we walked back to the main camp.

They disappeared into the RV and Dale just shut the door after them. Daryl was sitting on his truck, looking out into the woods. Rick and T-Dog were walking around looking for signs of life or lack of life. Carol, Lori, Carl, and Sophia were washing clothes. And Andrea was talking to Dale. What do I do?

I sneaked into the RV to find them. They were curled up on the bed together, with Chrissy's arms over him protectively. Much in the same way she slept with Carl that night in the truck. They both looked exhausted and happy.

I sat at the table and stared out the window. Not seeing much of anything but trees, trees, a couple bushes, and more trees. Life during the apocalypse is so boring!


End file.
